Behind the Smile
by InkyQuill553
Summary: Set 6 months after BoO, and 1 month after Leo returns to Camp Half-Blood, Hera is frustrated that even after their friend comes back to life, the seven still don't understand Leo. So Hera decides to show the seven his memories. And yes, I know this plot is over-used, but I read some fanfictions similar to this and was inspired :-) Hope you like it!
1. Chapter 1

**Hi! Okay this is my first fanfiction so I hope it's ok. Now for the boring bit:**

 **DISCLAIMER: I don't own Percy Jackson**

 **PIPER:**

"What's wrong?" Piper looked up from her argument with the naiads to see a red-faced Jason doubled over and panting next to her. Once he had got most of his breath back, he managed to say,

"Big House. The seven of us. Now." Piper groaned.

"What does Chiron want now?" In the month after Leo returned and brought his no-longer-immortal girlfriend back to Camp Half-Blood, Chiron had called on the five of them –the seven of them, if Frank and Hazel were visiting- to give speeches about their quests to new campers, work together to write a song about their journey and sing it at the campfire (completely mortifying, by the way) and even made Leo build a miniature model of the Argo II to put in the camp museum (though secretly Piper thought Leo enjoyed that last one). Jason smirked briefly, as if remembering all the complaints the seven of them had made about the tasks. Piper particularly remembered Percy's complaint that he was feeling like Hercules, having to do all these horrible tasks, and Annabeth's threat of using Piper's cornucopia to bury him under a pile of coconuts.

"Actually, it has nothing to do with Chiron." Jason said, suddenly serious. "It's Rachel who told us that we needed to go to the Big House."

"Rachel?" Piper frowned.

"Yeah. She said it's not a prediction, since the Oracle of Delphi is still not working, but more like a feeling…" Piper couldn't help but shudder. The last time their Oracle had gone into somewhere because of a feeling, she had been possessed by Hera and had attacked Piper. It wasn't Rachel's fault, but still, Piper wasn't keen to repeat the experience. Jason continued, oblivious to the shudder.

"Annabeth's gone off to tell Leo and Calypso and Percy's gone to find Hazel and Frank."

"Calypso? I thought it was just the seven of us." Piper said, surprised.

"Rachel was adamant that Calypso was needed too." Jason explained. "It's weird."

'You know what else is weird? That both Ella and Rachel sensed that Hazel and Frank needed to be here." Tyson and Ella had both been staying at the Roman camp, in the hopes that their harpy friend would sprout a prophecy that the Romans recognized from the Sibylline books. Only a week ago, however, Frank and Hazel had appeared at camp, explaining that Ella had told them to go to Camp Half-Blood, and wouldn't stop screeching until they agreed.

"Come on." Jason sighed, looking up at the sun, which was now high in the sky. "We'd better go anyway, and see what this is all about- they'll be waiting for us by now.'

"I just hope it's not another quest." Piper muttered under her breath, before standing up and following Jason to the Big House.

 **Sorry it's so short! But I didn't know if it would be good or not. Please review! One review and I will post a new chapter. Three reviews and I will make it longer.**


	2. Chapter 2

**OK, here is the second chapter! Thank you to the people who favourited, followed, and reviewed! Here are the shout outs to the people who did:**

 **elephantlover123- Thank you, I'm glad you like it! I can't wait to read yours.**

 **CrazyBlueOwl- I hope you like this second chapter. And yes, another Leo fic :-) He's my favourite character.**

 **Disclaimer: If I owned Percy Jackson, I would have heaps of fans and my name would be Rick, neither of which is true.**

 **PERCY**

When Jason and Piper finally arrived, Leo smirked and said,

"And finally, Piper manages to stop staring at her reflection in the canoe lake and join us." Piper scowled.

"I wasn't staring at myself! I was sorting something out with the naiads, Leo!"

"Alright, beauty queen, if you want to lie. But we all know children of Aphrodite can't go a day without looking in the mirr-" Calypso slapped his arm and he yelped. "Okay! Okay! Jeez." He muttered, rubbing his arm. Percy took that as his cue.

"Okay, we're all in here. Now what?" Percy looked around the group. Everyone had as little idea of why they were needed there as he did. Suddenly, the front door of the Big House slammed shut and locked. Leo yelped again. He laughed sheepishly and forced a grin onto his face, looking embarrassed. Percy felt his own heart-rate increase, and he uncapped Riptide. He stood with the bronze sword ready in his hand, scanning the room for threats. To his left, he saw Jason and Annabeth also had their weapons drawn. The seven demigods and Calypso stood in tense silence, the only sound their quiet breathing. Then, from the wall above the fireplace, a loud roar interrupted the silence. Percy's head snapped to the side, but it was only Seymour, the mounted leopard head. He relaxed slightly, when suddenly, Jason cursed under his breath. Seymour's mouth was frozen in a snarling expression. Around the room, everything else had frozen too. The fire that had been crackling in the fire place had hardened like red glass, and, looking out through the windows, Percy could see the campers who had been training outside weren't moving. The whole camp was frozen, Percy realized with great certainty, and the eight of them were the only ones in it who weren't. Or rather, the seven of them. He looked across and realized that Leo was frozen too. The nervous smile was frozen on his face, and he didn't blink or breathe. Frank stumbled away from him in alarm. Calypso looked worried.

"What's wrong with him?" She asked, and Percy could hear the panic creeping into her voice. Jason opened his mouth to respond, probably to reassure her, when a familiar voice echoed around the room.

"Oh, there's nothing wrong with him, dear. At least, that's what you all seem to think."

"Hera." Annabeth spat, just as smoke began to pour out of Seymour's mouth, and solidified into the form of said goddess. The room instantly dissolved into chaos. Six demigods yelling at the same time can be quite an intimidating sight, especially if most of them are carrying weapons. So, understandably, Hera looked completely confronted, and even went as far as to put her hands up in surrender, but that didn't stop them. Annabeth hurled insults in ancient Greek, something about intestinally challenged cows and kidnapping boyfriends. Piper scowled and complained about a month of fake memories. Percy found himself yelling about his and Jason's stolen memories, and Hazel protested about the unfairness of turning their lives upside down and forcing them to go on a quest that ended up killing Leo, all because of a risky plan to reunite the god's aspects. Suddenly, Frank yelled above everyone,

" _And_ you saved my life by telling my mum about the cursed piece of firewood!" Then he frowned. "No, hang on, that's a good thing." Jason, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly sighed.

"Seymour, you really need to stop eating goddesses."

 **Yes, it's still quite short, but it is a bit longer :-) And I had my** **immunisations today so my arms are too sore to type anymore. I actually have a phobia of needles, so it was scary, but I survived ;-) **


	3. Chapter 3

**Yay! Chapter 3! Thank you to elephantlover123 and bookwormmonster for reviewing. Reviews put a smile on my face and inspire me to do new chapters!**

 **Disclaimer: If I owned Percy Jackson, why would I be writing fan fiction for myself? Honestly you people.**

 **JASON**

"Seymour, you really need to stop eating goddesses." Jason sighed.

Hazel looked at him, surprised.

"This has happened before?" She asked. Jason opened his mouth to answer, but before he could, Hera interjected.

"That doesn't matter! What matters is your rudeness! One would think you would be grateful that my plan saved your world, and ended your camps' hatred!" The demigods looked at her as if they were all thinking, _Seriously woman?_ Annabeth scowled at her.

"Hera, what are you even doing here? Because there is no way in Hades I'm going on another quest." She snapped.

"And why have you frozen Leo?" Calypso asked quietly. Jason jumped when he realized she was right behind him. She'd been so silent that he'd almost forgotten she was there.

"Thank you! Finally, we're back on track. See? This is much better than yelling at me angrily-"

"Don't think I haven't forgotten you were one of the gods who put me on that island, Hera." Calypso muttered. Hera ignored her.

"To answer both of your questions, I have come here because I am incredibly frustrated and deeply concerned." Annabeth rolled her eyes. "When Leo Valdez returned to this camp alive, after months of you demigods thinking he was dead, you were overjoyed. But as the weeks wore on, everything went back to normal, and you six treated him the same as you always did- like he was simply the annoying joker boy who got on your nerves."

"That's not true!" Piper cried out indignantly, and Jason agreed. Leo was their friend, not a nuisance.

"You think so? And yet, did he not anger you when he made a light-hearted joke at your expense? You know nothing about Leo Valdez. He was the one who fixed things on the ship of yours. The ship that he almost died to complete, you all took for granted. Not once did any of you thank him for it. Did any of you ever ask how he was feeling? No. Have any of you realized that he hasn't eaten for the past three days?" Their surprised faces gave Hera her answer. "You see? Not one of you ever trusted him enough to confide anything in him. You were all so caught up in each other that you didn't even notice Leo until he annoyed you."

Hera looked up smugly at their hung heads. "Though I must admit I do feel a bit cruel for speaking only of your behaviour. After all, Leo Valdez has been treated like this his whole life- I should think he is well used to it by now."

Hera turned to Calypso and shook her head. "And even you, Calypso, the only one who knows his pain and has seen it first hand, are growing tired of the emotional baggage that comes with Leo when he chooses to open up to you about his feelings. You should feel honoured! Leo Valdez chooses _you_ to confide in above his _friends_! The daughter of a _Titan_ is there for him more than the _friends_ that he risked his life for! It's comical really." Jason didn't think it was comical. At all. Neither did Calypso, apparently. In fact she looked like she'd been slapped.

"It's no wonder he felt like the outsider in your group. The least valuable crew member. The seventh wheel. A useless part to be thrown away. He constantly felt alone. Always working, never resting, trying to prove his worth. Always hating himself as much as you all seemed to hate him."

Jason himself felt like the worst friend in the history of ever. He had always thought he knew everything about Leo- apart from telling people about his mum, the guy was an open book. Or so Jason had thought.

"We never hated him! It's just… sometimes his jokes got annoying." Hazel protested.

"Yes," Continued Hera, "But you never cared enough to realize why he made the jokes. They were used for defence- whenever he felt hurt or nervous, he'd use humour to hide it. And yet none of you noticed. You all just thought he was always happy- always there to lighten the mood- and yet he was the one hurting most out of all of you. You never realized the pain that was hiding behind his smile."

Silence. No one spoke; they just looked at each other in horror. Leo couldn't be hurting that much, he was… well, he was Leo. Always laughing, always smiling.

Hera lifted her chin and looked at them regally, as if she had the best idea in the world and knew they were all about to be gobsmacked.

"You don't understand Leo Valdez enough. So, in order for you to understand him more, I am going to show you his memories." The six demigods cried out in protest, but Calypso interrupted them by flushing uncharacteristically pink and saying,

" _All_ his memories?" She asked. Percy smirked.

"Yeah Hera, if you show us all Leo's memories, we're gonna be in here forever. And I seriously don't want to only leave when I'm eighty seven."

"Oh, you wouldn't be in here _that_ long- only about a year or so."

"Uh, that's a pretty long time, actually." Frank said, as the others started to protest.

"Which is _why,_ "Hera raised her voice to quieten them, "knowing how short mortal's lives are, I will only show you some of Leo's memories- his _worst_ I think we'll start with the worst of them all…"

Hera's body began to dissolve into smoke and she was sucked back into Seymour's open mouth. But even after she disappeared, everything, including Leo, remained frozen. Jason ran over to the door and tried to open it. It was still shut tight. Hera's voice echoed around the room.

"None of you can leave this room until the memories are over. You can't open the door, Jason, and, Percy the windows are unbreakable." Percy, who had been about to throw Frank through the window in armadillo form, froze in his tracks. "So don't waste your time trying to escape." Jason could here the infuriating smugness in Hera's voice, and he cursed her under his breath.

A misty iris message appeared in the center of the room, showing a large, dark building that looked like a warehouse. Jason felt a sense of dread settle in his stomach as he watched an eight-year-old Leo walking through the building, hand in hand with a woman who must have been his mother. _I think we'll start with the worst of them all._ That's what Hera had said. And so, while the others slowly sat down on the Big House's threadbare sofas behind him, Jason stood, staring at the woman in the memory, who was laughing and smiling at Leo, knowing that she was going to die.

 **End of Chapter 3! Sorry for the humungous rant/monologue by Hera. I hope you weren't eighty seven by the end of it! But I had to get it through the rest of the seven's thick heads how much Leo was hurting on the inside. Anyway, I hope you liked it. Review to tell me who's POV to do next.**


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm so sorry!** **I set a goal for myself to update on Easter and then I didn't have time and I had so much homework over the Easter break. Seriously, what kind of person gives homework over the Easter break?! It's like all the teachers went, "Hang on! They have five whole days off school! Great! I haven't given them enough homework, lets ruin their peaceful break! I just feel bad because I couldn't update. Oh well. Anyway, I'm sorry. I'm really happy though because this is the most reviews per chapter that I've had so far! Alright. Here is your long-awaited chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: Nope. Wrong person, sorry. You're looking for Rick Riordan. He's the one who owns PJO and HoO.**

 **CALYPSO**

 **(Asked for by elephantlover123)**

Calypso felt like the worst girlfriend in the world. Was she Leo's girlfriend? She wasn't sure. They'd never really talked about it. But listening to Hera talking about how the seven's ignorance to his internal struggle had affected Leo, Calypso felt like she didn't deserve to be. She was the only one among them who had ever seen Leo in his darkest moments. She knew the weight he carried on his shoulders everyday and the guilt that slowly squeezed the life out of him. She knew he dreamed of his past at night and suffered from night terrors that left him terrified in his bed. He had post traumatic stress disorder from his mother's death and from the horrors he experienced in his foster homes, causing himsevere flashbacks, anxiety, and insomnia. He struggled to let people in, fearing that they would laugh a him or judge him or leave him behind. She new he wanted to break down and cry and destroy things, but instead, to keep his mind off it, he laughed and he joked and he fixed things. He was hurting, but he hid it well.

Leo had never wanted her to see him upset, or broken- he had tried to hide his emotions from her like he had with his friends. But when you spend six months flying on a dragon with someone, spending almost every second with them, fighting with them, laughing with them and crying with them for six straight months, it becomes easier to see who they are on the inside. She had woken up in the middle of the night while on their adventures, to find Leo sitting up next to her, quietly shaking, eyes wide and crying. It was a side to him she'd never seen- the side he had tried to hide. She had seen through the small crack in the mask he wore- the one chipped off piece that he had hoped no one would notice. All alone in the middle of the night, when he thought she was asleep, he had let himself fall apart.

And once you let yourself fall apart, its hard to pull yourself together again. He couldn't muster a joke that night. Couldn't stop the steady stream of tears that fell down his face. He couldn't stop her from seeing what was happening- he was already too far gone. So she had hugged him and held him until the crying had stopped, and dawn had begun to break. They packed up the camp in silence, him not meeting her eyes. And then Leo had turned around and grabbed her shoulders and begged her not to tell anyone else about what she saw. He didn't make her swear on the Styx. He trusted her enough. And so she never told any of his friends about his pain, or what he was going through. Even when, later, he opened up to her about his foster homes, and his mother's death and the dark, horrible thoughts that wouldn't leave his head, she said nothing to anyone. She kept all his secrets and she continued to help him through his nightmares and flash backs. Calypso knew how precious his trust was- she could only now see through his mask because he had let her see behind it.

And that was why she felt so bad- she still felt awful for not telling his friends. They deserved to know, and they cared about him. As soon as she told them what was going on, they would rush to help him, they would make sure he was alright. They would prove that he was not useless and unloved and give him the support he needed. They would give _her_ the support she needed in helping him.

Calypso sighed. Sinking into one of the sofas, she decided she would tell him that as soon as the memories finished.

Speaking of memories, an iris message appeared in front of her, showing Leo who looked about eight. He was holding hands with a woman Calypso recognised as his mother and they were walking through a large warehouse. Slowly, the others drifted to the couches to join her, until it was only Jason standing, watching the memory.

"Jason?" Hazel called out. When Jason turned, his face was filled with horror. Next to Calypso, Piper's face mirrored his. The memory started.

* * *

 **Leo** **walked through the warehouse holding hands with his mother, their footsteps echoing around the room. Every now and then they would stop while she flipped a switch on the wall, and in a section of the room behind them, all the lights would turn off. Little Leo looked up at his mother as she turned off the second last one.**

" **I don't like it when all the lights are off. I can't see anything behind me." He glanced warily over his shoulder. "It's scary."**

 **His mother just laughed kindly and ruffled his hair.**

" **Don't be scared, mijo. The lights turning off is just the warehouse going to sleep. We'll come back tomorrow and you'll see that it's just the same in the day light."**

 **They reached the door to what looked like a break room and walked inside. No sooner had they walked through the doorway, Leo's mother adopted a confused expression and she dug around in her jumper pocket, as if she was looking for something.**

" **That's funny." She frowned. "I know I had them. Wait here, mijo.** **I'll only be a minute." She looked at him and smiled, then went back into the warehouse. She'd only been gone a few heartbeats when the interior door suddenly slammed shut. The exterior door locked itself.**

" **Mama?" Young Leo's face contorted with fear. Behind him, something heavy crashed inside the warehouse. Leo ran to the door, desperately pulling and kicking it as hard as he could, but it wouldn't open. "Mum!" Leo called out again, more panicked this time. Frantically, he tapped something on the wall.**

* * *

(Calypso assumed it was Morse code. Leo had taught her 'I love you' and 'Leave me alone, Leo **',** which had been useful when he was being annoying. Because seriously, as sad as he could sometimes be, when he was in a good mood the guy seemed to go on a "let's be a pain in the backside rampage" and entertain himself by irritating her. Yes, it was annoying, but the look on his face when she managed to make a comeback that beat all of his humour and banter was priceless.)

* * *

 **Behind him, a familiar voice called out sleepily.** " **She can't hear you."**

 **Leo turned around to face the owner of the voice. She was wrapped in robes of dry black dirt, churning and shifting around her. A dark veil covered her face. Leo looked at her, confusion crossing his face.**

All around Calypso, the demigods stiffened. On each of their faces was a scowl. All their frustration at Hera seemed to vanish as they heard the voice of the goddess they loathed. Calypso swore she heard Piper hiss.

" **Tia?" he called uncertainly. Gaia chuckled, a slow gentle sound, as if she were half asleep.**

" **I am not your guardian. Merely a family resemblance."**

" **What- what do you want?" Leo's voice trembled and his lower lip quivered as he said, "Where's my mum?" Gaia smiled behind the veil.**

" **Ah… loyal to your mother. How nice. But, you see, I have children too… and I understand you will fight them some day. When they try to wake me, you will prevent them. I cannot allow that."**

" **I don't know you. I don't want to fight anybody."**

" **A wise choice." Gaia muttered like a sleepwalker in a trance. Leo's eyes widened, as if he was just realising that she was, in fact, asleep. Her lips barely moving, Gaia murmured, "I can not destroy you yet. The Fates will not allow it. But they do not protect your mother, and they cannot stop me from breaking your spirit**. **Remember this night, little hero, when they ask you to oppose me."**

" **Leave my mother alone!" Leo yelled, panic clear in his voice, as Gaia shuffled forward like an avalanche of dark earth.**

" **How will you stop me?" Gaia whispered. She walked straight through a table, particles of her body reassembling on the other side.**

Leo's hands caught fire, just like the rest of them had seen them do so many times before, but in the memory he looked more terrified than Calypso had ever seen him. A sleepy smile spread across Gaia's face as if she had already won, and Calypso felt sick. She felt her fingernails dig into her palms as she balled her hands in fury.

 **Leo screamed in desperation. His whole body caught fire, white-hot flames dancing through his hair, along his arms, rippling his clothes as they spread from his body in waves, washing over Gaia, the walls, the locked door. Gaia simply laughed and dissolved into dirt particles, as the flames died down to orange and Leo collapsed in a heap onto the burning floor…**

 **The memory went black for a few seconds before showing Leo sitting in the back of an ambulance, its flashing lights casting red and blue tinges to the scene. To Leo's left, fire fighters were putting out the flames of the workshop and a kind-looking paramedic was sitting next to him. She wrapped a blanket around his shaking shoulders.**

When the paramedic told Leo that the warehouse had burnt down and his mother hadn't made it out, Calypso waited for Leo to react- cry, wail- as horrible as that would be to watch. But he didn't. He just looked at her. And the agonised expressed on his face was worse than anything else he could have done. He looked at the woman with dead, shattered eyes. Every bit of light was gone from them. No smile, no light, no happiness. No laughter reflected in his eyes. Only pain, cold and hard and sharp. The eyes of a boy who wanted to die.

 **The paramedic was called over by a policeman and she left Leo by himself. Only then did he cry. He sobbed his heart out, curled into a ball, holding his head, rocking back and forth. As he cried, he dug his fingernails into his arms and dragged them up over and over again, rocking and sobbing. At first, they left temporary white lines that faded in seconds, but as he continued they left red marks. By the time the paramedic returned, the policeman behind her, the red marks had become scratches, red droplets of blood seeping from them.**

The memory switched to something that couldn't be Leo's memory, and Calypso realised that it was happening shortly after Leo set fire to the warehouse, before the ambulances came.

 **Leo's mother backed up against a wall, cowering away from the flames as they caught the workbenches on fire, dancing horribly towards her. The flames melted the tools, blistered the paint splashes on the floor. She coughed and her breathing was raspy as she tried to inhale through the smoke. The heat and acrid, black smoke made her eyes water, so that she appeared to be crying. Looking up at the night stars through a window to her right, she whispered,** " **Please, Hephaestus, protect Leo." She broke down in a fit of coughing then said, her voice barely audible, "Stay strong, mijo, I love you."**

The memory ended. Calypso felt her throat close over, and she blinked back tears. Gaia, that stupid bitch, had been the one to start Leo's pain. Poor kind, sweet Leo. She loathed the goddess even more now.

"Oh gods." Piper whispered, and on her right, Jason put his arm around her shoulders. "He- he told us how his mother died." She continued. "I just… I guess I never realised how horrible it was for him." Calypso felt hollow. Calypso realised that she, Piper and Jason were the only ones he'd ever properly told. And showing Leo's mother as she died, begging Hephaestus to protect Leo and telling him that she loved him, just made it ten times worse. Looking around her, at the couples comforting each other, Calypso felt entirely alone. No one would put their arm around her shoulders, or hold her hand while she watched the memories. Now she felt what Leo had always felt since his mother's death. Alone. So very alone.


	5. Chapter 5

**I. Am. So. Sorry! I had heaps of homework again but I worked on it almost every day for the whole holidays. It wasn't overly long or complicated so I don't know why it took so long to write.**

 **Disclaimer: Why would I own Pjo? I'm not Rick Riordan.**

 **FRANK**

Hazel's small hand gripped Frank's so tightly he was surprised the bones weren't breaking. Seriously, for someone who'd only just turned fourteen, she had a pretty strong grip when she was upset. **(AN: Hazel's birthday is the 17** **th** **of December, and this is set six months after Gaia's failed attempt to conquer the world (August first), meaning it is 1** **st** **January. This means Hazel is 14, Frank is still 16 (His birthday is 5** **th** **June), Jason is still 16 (Born 1** **st** **July), Piper is possibly still fifteen (Birthday unknown), Annabeth is still 17 (Born 12** **th** **July), Percy is still 17 (Born 18** **th** **august), Leo is possibly still 15 (Birthday unknown) and Nico is still 14 (Born 28** **th** **January) Just thought I'd say that so you know)** And she had reason to be. Even Frank, who had never really been that close to Leo, felt awful. He had always thought he'd had the worst luck of the seven, with his mother dying in battle. It had been awful, because she was so far away from her family and it hurt more after he knew his father was the god of the thing that killed his mother. Leo's mother's death was worse. Sure, he'd briefly mentioned his mother dying in a machine shop fire when they were locked in the underwater cave by the ichthyocentaurs, but not properly or in detail. Not like that. Frank vaguely heard Piper saying something through tears. She and Calypso were both crying, though Calypso was trying to hide hers. He watched as she tried to reign in her emotions, and smooth them over with that calm regal expression of hers that scared the bejeebers out of Frank. He wasn't scared now. In fact, Frank felt sorry for Calypso. She was all on her own at the very end of the couch. Next to her were Piper and Jason, then Percy and Annabeth, and finally Hazel and himself at the opposite end, but no one but him was taking any notice of her, or asking her if she was okay. He opened his mouth and leaned past Hazel, who had her hand over her mouth in shock, to do so, when the memory iris message, which had stayed black while they were talking, suddenly flashed and began to show another memory...

 **A black car pulled up the driveway of a huge cream mansion.**

It was a nice house, with a neat, manicured front lawn and shaped hedges in large pots running along either side of the driveway. It reminded Frank, with a pang of sadness, of his family mansion. Before it had burnt down it had been as nice as this.

 **A blonde woman opened the door of the driver's seat and got out of the car. She looked worried, her lips pressed together in a thin line, but when she opened the back door and squatted down to talk to the boy in the back seat, her voice was gentle and kind.**

" **Leo? That's your name, isn't it? Don't worry, sweetie, we'll sort this out. I know you're upset, but we'll find one of your relatives to take you in." She managed a weak smile in Leo's direction. Leo looked up at her.**

He was still about eight, and still looked shell-shocked, so Frank realised it must have been recently after his mother's death. The sky was beginning to lighten, so it must have been a few hours later. Leo had dark bags under his eyes and they were red and puffy from crying. His hair was even messier than usual and above his tear-stained cheeks; his eyes were shattered and lost as they looked up at the woman. The scratches on his arms had all but stopped bleeding, though they were still red and looked painful.

" **Come on, we'll go see your Aunt now. We can tell her what's happened. I'm sure she'll be happy to take you in." The woman took his hand and led him up the neat driveway of his Aunt's house. Leo just shook his head as he walked numbly behind her, as if he already knew that the woman was wrong. The lady stood in front of the large, polished wood door and rang the doorbell. It sounded muffled as it echoed around inside the house. The sound of clacking footsteps became louder as they got closer to the door, which was suddenly flung open in their face. "What time do you call this? Who do you think you are, knocking on my door this early in the morning?" The woman who opened the door yelled at them.**

Frank looked up the woman, who he assumed was Leo's aunt, then immediately wished he hadn't. To his left, the rest of them all moaned and covered their faces. Percy cried out in agony, "My eyes! My eyes!" until Annabeth shushed him. Hazel gasped with realisation.

"Aunt Rosa." She spat under her breath.

"Who's Aunt Rosa?" Frank asked. Hazel shook her head and looked at him, her expression saying, _I'll explain later._

Frank turned back to the memory. The woman looked enough like Leo and his mother to be related to them, but not enough for Frank to like her. Her heavily made up face was twisted into a cruel scowl, giving the effect that she was a lot older than she probably was. There was a mole on the side of her broad nose. But the worst part about her was her clothes. She'd obviously just woken up, because hanging off her bony frame was a short, pink silk nightdress with lace lining the sleeves and hem. It was a little too see-through for Frank's liking. On her calloused feet, she wore a morbid cross between pink fluffy slippers and stilettos.

 **The blonde woman winced before saying, "I'm sorry to disturb you, ma'am. I'm Tiffany Bragson, child services wor-"**

" **What is** _ **he**_ **doing here?" Leo's aunt interrupted her, pointing a bony finger at Leo who stood, cowering, behind Tiffany. "You dare come to my house this early in the morning and bring this horrible little monster? I don't care what trouble he's caused. I'm not his mother! Give him to her, I want nothing to do with him!" At this, Leo let out a quiet sob. Tiffany pursed her lips.**

" **I'm afraid Leo's mother is the reason I'm here. I'm very sorry to inform you that there was a fire in the workshop where your sister works." She paused. "She didn't make it out." Leo's aunt just stared at her, her scowl deepening.**

" **I'm sorry?"**

" **Your sister's work shop burned down. Esperanza died in the flames."**

" **She's** _ **dead?"**_ **Leo's aunt shrieked.**

" **I'm terribly sorry to have to tell you this… Mrs Valdez" She seemed unsure what to call Leo's aunt. Her face suddenly brightened a little. "But, by some miracle," She ushered Leo forwards. "your nephew survived the fire." Leo's aunt balled her fists in rage. Her face was beginning to resemble a beetroot.**

" _ **He**_ **survived?" She spat.**

" **Yes. The police are still confused as to** _ **how**_ **he survived, but the flames started in the break room where he was at the time of the fire and spread from there. So they think the fire somehow just burnt around him and-"**

" **Are you completely thick, woman? This is his fault! All his fault! He's a horrible devil child!" She turned to Leo. "I** _ **told**_ **your mother to disown you! I** _ **warned**_ **her you would be nothing but trouble, that you would take after your no-good father! You never should have been born! And you're always playing with fire -setting things alight! I told your mother a sound beating would do the trick, but she would never lay a hand against you! And now you've gone and killed her!" Leo had started to cry.**

" **I didn't kill her!" He sobbed.**

" **Liar! You horrible little diablo!" She lunged forward and grabbed the collar of his shirt. Tiffany looked alarmed.**

" **Let go of the child, Mrs Valdez." She said, her voice suddenly commanding.**

" **Don't tell me what to do! I can decide how to treat my own nephew!" She slapped him hard across the face and shoved him away from her. He hit the driveway with a loud** _ **thwack,**_ **and skidded along the concrete on his hands and knees. Tiffany rushed over to help him. She looked at Leo's aunt in disgust.**

" **You horrible woman!" She cried. Next to her, Leo sobbed, gingerly holding his cut, bleeding hands. His grazed knees dribbled blood down his legs as he cried.**

The memory went black. Hazel ripped her hand from Frank's, balling her hands into fists in anger.

"That nasty monster!" She snarled. Frank looked at her.

"You knew who she was before the memory, didn't you?" Hazel nodded.

"When Leo and I went to the Great Salt Lake and met Nemesis, she took the form of the person we most wanted revenge on. For me, it was my third grade teacher. For Leo it was…"

"Aunt Rosa." Annabeth finished for her.

"What an evil witch!Gods, I could _kill_ that woman! Why didn't Leo say anything about it to us?" Piper growled angrily.

"I don't know. I guess he never really found the need to tell us." Jason sighed.

Frank had decided that there were a lot more things that Leo hadn't told them about his past than any of them had realised.

 **Yay! There you go, Chapter five! I hope it was ok. Please review**


	6. Chapter 6

**Umm.. hi. Don't kill me, I'm sorry I took so long to update! I lost inspiration and couldn't think of anything to write. Then I went back and reread what I had written and kind of died inside. I couldn't believe I had written something so bad. I even considered removing this fanfic (don't worry, I won't). But instead I persevered and now you have a new chapter about a year after the last! Sorry it took so long! But at least it's here. I have been spending my time going back over my chapters as I have had a long time to think, and a lot of my ideas and head canons have changed since I last updated. So I now give you an improved, updated, six chaptered story! Yay! So if you can, I recommend you reread. Some chapters have been changed more than others, so some changes may not be noticeable but others** **have very big changes.**

 **I'd just like to say thank you so much for all your support of this fanfic and I will do my best to update more from now on!**

ANNABETH

"I guess he never really found the need to tell us." Annabeth heard Jason sigh. To her, Leo had always been a comrade. An annoying, hyperactive comrade who spent too much time with his machines. They had spent some time together when he needed help in the engine room, since she was the only other person on the Argo II who understood engineering, or rather, the only other person who was brave enough to go into the engine room. He hadn't really spoken much when they were in the engine room; he just concentrated on the engine and occasionally asked her to pass him a wrench. Annabeth could usually tell what was going on in other demigod's heads by looking at body language and slight changes in facial expression, but with Leo she was clueless. He just seemed to smile all the time, and never let anyone see the real him. Stupidly, she had fallen for his act. Until now, Annabeth had assumed he was constantly happy. Now she saw how wrong she was. Annabeth looked over to where Leo was frozen. He had a nervous smile plastered onto his face. _Even when he can't move, he still smiles_ she thought. Only now did she realise how fake the smile was.

A movement out the corner of her eye snapped Annabeth from her thoughts. The iris message, which had stayed a cloud of white mist after the last memory, flickered to life. Annabeth was really starting to hate it. Even more, though, she hated Hera for making them watch the memories in the first place. But, considering Annabeth and the rest of the seven had had no idea what Leo had been through despite how long they'd known him, she realised Hera wasn't actually the worst person in this situation. The memory started.

 **Eight-year-old Leo walked through the front door of a small, clean house. He shuffled along behind Tiffany, his knees and hands covered in Band-Aids from when Aunt Rosa had shoved him. An old duffle bag that was far too big for him was slung across his shoulder and he stumbled under the awkward size of it, even though it looked mostly empty. A pudgy old woman led them to the living room.**

" **Sit down, sit down!" She smiled cheerfully, as she flopped down on a sofa and shoved a biscuit into her mouth. Leo and Tiffany gingerly sat down on the chocolate-stained sofa. "Would you like one?" the woman asked, holding a biscuit tin out to Leo, who shook his head, wiping his eyes.**

"She seems nice." Piper ventured uncertainly. She was nicer than Leo's aunt, at least.

 **Tiffany cleared her throat. "Well, Mrs Wilson, if you will sign these papers to foster Leo, I'll be on my way." Mrs Wilson wiped the crumbs from around her mouth.**

" **Certainly." She looked over to Leo. "The other children are in the playroom, sugar. You can go and introduce yourself, seeing as they'll be your foster siblings from now on."**

She smiled, but Leo didn't move. It seemed to be dawning on him that this was real, and that his mum was really gone. _Poor thing_ thought Annabeth. His lower lip trembled.

" **Leo?" Tiffany asked gently. He stood up uncertainly.**

" **Good boy." Said Mrs Wilson. "The playroom's the second door on your right, pumpkin."**

 **Leo walked reluctantly out of the room and down the long hallway to the closed door of the playroom.**

He lifted his hand to the door handle and Annabeth noticed it was shaking.

 **When Leo opened the door, he was greeted by a warzone. Kids from three to fifteen years old filled a room that was far too small to accommodate them. The floor was wooden, but had so many toys strewn across it that it looked carpeted. The younger kids, all fat and spoilt on the chocolate cake they held in dirty hands, ran around yelling and screaming, throwing toys and hitting each other. The middle kids were about seven to twelve years old, and were huddled in the corners, trying not to be hit running five-year-old missiles, or to be noticed by the older kids- all boys of about fifteen. They leaned against the far wall, scowling at the younger kids, standing in the only part of the floor where no child dared to put a toy. Even the toddlers gave them a wide birth. It was like they had a semicircular force field around them that no one dared cross. They had a child of about eleven in their grasp and were tormenting him while he cried. The middle kids looked up at Leo when he walked in, but made no attempt to welcome him- they simply stared at him as if he were already a goner. Glancing warily over at the older kids, little Leo hesitantly began to make his way over to a corner, trying not to be noticed. It didn't work. His overly large bag hit a shelf and knocked over a plastic accordion toy. It hit the ground and made a sound that was a mix between a car horn, an organ and someone killing a cat. A very loud cat. Every face slowly turned towards him and all the noise died down to silence as the kids looked at him. The older kids let** go **of their victim, who quickly scurried away, glancing thankfully in Leo's direction. The oldest kid- a tall, lanky boy with black hair, pond scum green eyes and a permanent scowl- sauntered over to Leo.**

"Look, it's you Percy." Jason sniggered, playfully punching Percy's arm. Percy rolled his eyes. "Seriously man?" Percy punched him back. "I'm way hotter than that." Annabeth scowled. "Boys!" She snapped. "Now's not the time!" The boys hung their heads, mumbling apologies. They turned back to the memory.

 **Leo cowered in panic, while the other kids darted out of the oldest boy's way. "And who do we have here?" He spat maliciously, arching an eyebrow. The two other older kids smirked. They walked up to stand behind him, scowling at Leo. Leo took a step back and said nothing. "** _ **Hello,**_ **thicko. That means I'm asking for your** _ **name.**_ **" The boy sneered. "Maybe he's mute!" One of the boy's two cronies piped up. "Maybe he's retarded!" The other jeered. They both snickered. "And** _ **maybe,"**_ **The oldest boy growled, "you two should** _ **shut the hell up!"**_ **They did, muttering "** _ **Yes Troy. Sorry Troy."**_ **Troy turned back to Leo. "You** _ **do**_ **have a name, right Thicko? Or did your mummy die before she could name you?" Leo flinched at the word** _ **mummy.**_ **Troy noticed. "What's wrong, Thicko? Don't like us talking about your mummy?" Leo blinked rapidly, trying to stall tears. Suddenly, one of Troy's cronies lurched forward and grabbed the side of Leo's duffel bag. "Hey, Troy!" He called, "There's a name tag on here! It says… umm… Espi? Es… Espinsa? Espinsa Valdez?" Troy shoved him out the way. "It says** _ **Esperanza**_ **Valdez, you idiot!" He turned to Leo. "That your name, Thicko? Esperanza? Coz that is the ugliest, girliest, most stupidest name I've ever heard! Your mummy must have been seriously stoned when she gave you** _ **that**_ **name!" Troy and his cronies snickered, and even some of the other kids tittered nervously. Leo looked hurt. "That's not my name." He mumbled quietly, speaking for the first time since he had entered the room. Troy smirked. "So you're not mute, Esperanza! What's your name then?"**

 **Leo sniffed. "Leo Valdez." He mumbled to his feet.**

" **Why've you got a bag with Esperanza on it then,** _ **Leo?**_ **" He suddenly gasped in mock revelation, opening his eyes overly wide and covering his mouth with his hand. He dropped and sneered. "Is it your** _ **mummy's?**_ **Did you** _ **steal**_ **it? Are you a** _ **thief,**_ **Leo?" Leo shook his head** **forcefully, eyes brimming with tears.**

" **I don't believe you. You stole it didn't you? Let me see inside. What did you steal?"**

" **I didn't steal anything!"**

" **Yes you did. That's why your mummy dumped you here. She couldn't stand you. She hated you didn't she?"**

" **No! I loved her!"**

" **That's not the same thing as her loving you, moron!" Troy snarled. "Now let me see what's in there!" Leo hugged the duffel bag close to him, and backed away, shaking his head. The other children were all crowded around Leo and his attackers, watching the show.**

" **I don't want you to." Leo said quietly, his voice shaking. Troy stuck out his bottom lip and mocked Leo's hurt voice.**

" **Aww, isn't that a shame?" Then he snarled. "I don't care!" His two cronies surged forward, trying to yank the bag off Leo's shoulder.**

" **No. Stop. I don't want you to!" Leo cried, holding onto the straps as they wrestled him for the bag, trying to pry his fingers off. But he held tight, even as they shoved him and jostled him trying to get the duffel bag out of his grip.**

" **Just let go, kid!" One of cronies growled, elbowing Leo in the stomach and shoving him backwards. Leo flailed and crashed into a bookcase that had been invaded by broken toys, knocking it over. Children darted out of the way.**

Leo's head hit the case with a sickening crack. The demigods all winced, and Piper gasped. Annabeth had had something similar happen to her. When an agitated Pegasus had come barrelling out of the stables, it had crashed into her. She had been knocked backwards to the ground and understandably winded, but the back her head had thwacked the grass hard. Her vision had gone and she couldn't move for the pain and nausea. But it was just grass she had landed on. She couldn't imagine how Leo must have felt, hitting his head against something as hard as wood.

 **Leo curled into a ball, holding the back of his head and sobbing. Troy's cronies gave him the bag and hovered around it, trying to see inside. Troy sneered.**

" **Shove off!" He yelled. They retreated slightly, but still leant forward to peer over his shoulder. The kids who were crowded around al leant in eagerly, completely ignoring the broken form of Leo, who was still sobbing in the foetal position.**

" **Alright," Troy smirked, "Let's see what's in little Leo's private life. Last time we had a look at James' stuff, but that was pretty boring, just like James!" He sniggered at his own joke. The boy they had been tormenting earlier, who must have been James** , **lowered his head. Troy ignored him and bent over the duffel bag in his hands, making a big show of unzipping it slowly. The children leaned in further. Then he cut the pretence and upended the bag so that its meagre contents fell to the floor. Troy flopped down.**

" **Let's see what was in there, shall we?" He sneered; sifting through what little had been in the bag. He grabbed a T-shirt that said, "I'm just a spanner in the works" above a picture of a toolbox and held it up. "What the hell is this piece of crap?" he sniggered. He threw it over his shoulder. He proceeded to go through what few clothes Leo had managed to grab from his house after the incident with Aunt Rosa in a similar manner- sneering or right out laughing along with the other children about how ugly they were, or how badly made, or how stupid they were.**

 **Troy picked up a stuffed toy that look like a cross between an elephant, a rabbit and something with wings, shakily hand sewn out of old grease rags.**

" **You make this, Thicko?" He'd gone back to calling Leo that. Leo looked up through a haze of pain and tears. He remained silent.**

" **Well? Did you? Coz if you did, its frickin' terrible!" Troy burst out laughing, parading it around for all the kids to see. "Look at this stupid thing! Ha! He made it himself! What a loser! What's it meant to be? Huh? What's it even s'posed to be?" Kids shouted out guesses to him, sniggering.**

" **It's a pig!" Shouted one.**

" **No, a rat!" Cried another, gleefully.**

" **No!" A voice yelled above the others, "Its his mum!" Everyone went quiet, and Troy's face went bright red. A ripple of fear went through the children, but then he roared with laughter, and the children joined in nervously. Troy sauntered over to Leo. "So, Thicko? Is it your mummy or what? Is it your stupid, ugly, mummy?" Leo squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head.**

" **What is it then?" Troy sneered. Leo didn't answer.**

" **I SAID WHAT IS IT, YOU STUPID WASTE OF SPACE!" He roared, kicking Leo in the ribs.**

" **I-It's a dragon" Leo stuttered quietly, tears streaming down his face.**

" **A** _ **dragon?"**_ **Troy sneered incredulously. Leo nodded, trying to crawl away from him. "What's its name?" He demanded. "Did you name your ugly little dragon toy, you sad, worthless loser?"**

" **H-he's called Feliz. I-It's Spanish for happy."**

" **Ha!" Troy snorted. "You named it happy the dragon? I guess I should be glad you didn't go full soppy geek on me and call it-" He frowned, "What's Latin for happy again? Rebecca!" He pointed at a small girl with braces. "You're a nerd! What's Latin for happy?"**

" **I, uh, I think it's, like, festus, or-or something."**

" **Yeah." Troy smirked, turning back to Leo. "I should be glad and you didn't give it a name like Festus! But you probably think it's a great name, don't you, loser? Too bad no one will ever like you enough to let you call them that!" He kicked Leo again and tore the dragon's head off. He threw the ruined toy at Leo's face. Leo's mouth opened in shock and fresh tears steamed down his face as he stared at the headless dragon in his lap.**

"That bastard!" Piper yelled, fuming. "He thinks he can just attack a little boy like that and destroy the only thing he has? He's half the size of you, you loser! He's just lost his mother! He's-" Jason put a comforting hand on her shoulder and Piper stopped, silently fuming.

Annabeth frowned, thinking. "Festus... you think that's where he got the name for the real Festus from?" She'd always wondered why he chose such a strange name for his fire breathing weapon.

"Probably." Jason nodded, sighing. "Ah jeez, I feel terrible. I made fun of Leo when he first told us Festus's name. I thought it was ridiculous to fly around on happy the dragon. I'm just like this douche bag. I probably made Leo feel really hurt in making fun of his name." Jason looked down at his hands.

"I doubt it." A quiet voice said. Annabeth realised it was Calypso. She wasn't quite sure what to make of Calyspo. Of course there was the whole thing with Percy going to her island and Calypso falling in love with him, but she hadn't tried to make a move on Percy the whole time she had been at camp, so Annabeth hoped she had moved past it. Still, she didn't like the way Calypso looked at Percy- like he was some kind of reminder of all the things she couldn't have. But there was something else too. Calypso was smart- Annabeth could see it in the intelligence and alertness glittering in her dark eyes and could hear it in her words- Annabeth could respect that. But Calypso's social skills were almost non-existent. The way Calypso interacted with other people was strange- she spoke in a stilted, monotone way, as if she wasn't sure how to properly talk- words seemed almost unnatural and alien on her lips. She was never the one to initiate a conversation: always quietly standing off to the side and listening- that emotionless, serene expression on her face, as if nothing could surprise her. Even her movements were stiff and almost robotic- she would stand dead still with her back ram-rod straight as if she was a statue, eyes fixed ahead until someone spoke to her, and even then, her head would jerk to the side strangely as she turned to look at them, eyes wide and barely blinking.

She constantly looked unbearably uncomfortable around the campers, especially Annabeth and Percy. There was just something slightly staged and off about the way she acted. The only person Annabeth had ever seen her seem relaxed and natural around, the only person that she could talk to with a voice that had inflection and tone and emotion and the only person Annabeth had ever seen her laugh with, was Leo and even then, she had never seen Calypso show any sign of affection for him. They seemed like complete opposites- always bickering, her always scolding him. Annabeth wasn't sure if their relationship would work, but they do say opposites attract.

Meanwhile, Calypso continued. "Even though his toy was never called Festus, the name was a symbol to Leo of his lack of self worth. The boy told him that no one would ever like him enough to let him call them that. He told him that he was a waste of space and made him feel worthless. He told him that his dragon was stupid and ugly just like him. Leo took it as a challenge. To prove him wrong. To prove he was, if not loved, at least liked. To prove that he could make something that wasn't stupid and ugly and useless. To prove that he _could_ call something happy the dragon, and that there was nothing wrong with the name Festus- nothing wrong with _him._ If you commented on it, it probably only fuelled the fire in Leo, made him more determined redeem the name and redeem himself."

The demigods stared at her in shock. It was the most they'd ever heard her say. Ever. And her voice had even sounded slightly more normal, which surprised Annabeth. Calypso looked embarrassed. No... not quite embarrassed, more ashamed, almost guilty. Annabeth's skills in reading people kicked in. Calypso was hunched over, staring intently at her hands in her lap, knuckles white. She read her body language, her facial expression, thought about her words and actions. It was as if Calypso had realised she'd said too much. Or maybe it was the other way around. Annabeth stared at Calypso, thinking hard. No. She hadn't said too much- she hadn't said enough. Calypso was holding back- hiding something. Now that Annabeth thought about it, Calypso hadn't looked at all shocked by any of the memories she had seen. She wasn't angry or upset from them, she didn't seem surprised in any way. But she had had that look of very slight guilt the entire time. That wasn't to say that her feeling of that guilt was slight- Annabeth could see whatever Calypso was holding back was tearing her apart inside. Calypso's guilt was strong and growing stronger, but she was good at hiding it.

 _Huh,_ Annabeth thought, _that makes two people who are good at hiding their emotions._

Maybe Calypso and Leo weren't so different after all.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hi. I've been feeling inspired lately and I felt like I owed it to you, so here's the next chapter. It's a bit short but oh well. Hope you like it!**

 **I have a lot of homework due this coming week so I might not be able to update until Thursday or Friday, but I'll do my best.**

HAZEL

Hazel vaguely heard the others talking about Festus, but she wasn't listening. She was just completely shocked by the cruelty and violence of Troy. Leo was eight years old, he was half the size of Troy and he had been barely holding back tears before he even saw the older boy. The last thing he needed or deserved was to be attacked, verbally and physically, by someone he didn't even know. Hazel had had a lot of run-ins with bullies in her life, because of her skin colour, because of her mother's job, because of her curse. But never, never had she been as horribly treated as Leo, and certainly not from the moment the bully laid eyes on her. Leo had barely walked in the room before he was yelled at and shoved and had his personal life invaded. Hazel desperately wanted to climb inside the memory and punch the _stercore_ out of this Troy, and show him that Leo had friends who were behind him and who had his back. Unfortunately, it was only a memory. Hazel was still dead when it had actually happened, and she didn't even know Leo back then. All she could do now was watch.

 **(Leo stared in shock at the headless dragon in his lap, fresh tears streaming down his face)**

 **Troy sneered again and was about to say something, when the door swung open and Mrs Wilson appeared, chocolate-stained smile big and flamboyant. It didn't last long.**

 **"Alright sweeties, time for lunch- oh dear. What's happened here?" She stood, pudgy hands on her hips, surveying the carnage. Leo sitting on the ground, bruised and crying, all the other children standing over him. Troy immediately adopted an expression of concern and innocence.**

 **"Oh, Mrs Wilson, it was awful. Leo was just introducing himself and showing us his stuff and then he tripped and fell! I tried to catch him but I couldn't." Troy looked down in mock shame.**

"Bullshit!" Percy yelled angrily.

"Percy!" Hazel cried, fanning her face. She still wasn't used to modern day swearing. Or any swearing for that matter.

"Sorry, Hazel." Percy grumbled, glaring at Troy. As much as she could chide Percy's use of profanities, Hazel could understand them. Percy hated people who hurt others, especially for no reason. But more than that, he hated people who hurt others and then lied about it. Especially if those "others" included his friends. Hazel agreed. She was really starting to hate this Troy.

 **"Oh dear, you poor thing, Leo! How did you trip?" Mrs Wilson rushed over to Leo and helped him up. "Oh no, and you broke your lovely... pig toy too." A few of the other kids sniggered.**

 **"I-I didn't trip. Troy, he-" Leo faltered. Troy was giving him a death glare from behind Mrs Wilson. His eyes seemed to say, "One more word and you're dead." Leo gulped.**

 **"Yes dear?" Mrs Wilson asked, oblivious to Troy.**

 **"N-nothing. I-I just tripped over my own f-feet." Mrs Wilson frowned.**

 **"Are you sure, sugar? It sounded like you were about to say-"**

 **"I'm sure!" Leo said, suddenly confident. He forced a big grin onto his face, standing up properly and dusting himself off as if he was in no pain of fear at all. "Troy is the best! I love it here!"**

Hazel shuddered. The smile was an exact replica of the ones they saw everyday on the Leo they knew. Only this one was so clearly fake it hurt. How had she not seen that before? It didn't even look remotely real. None of his smiles had. Yet she'd fallen for his trick. Hazel looked at little Leo again and felt sick. They were seeing the very first time he'd faked a smile to hide his pain- the start of many more. It just looked so _wrong_ on his face. A child who had just lost his mother and then been physically bullied shouldn't smile like that. It was like he'd been possessed by some horrible thing. He was standing so straight that he was almost on his tippy toes, his chest puffed out in mock happiness, eyes wide, smile stretching from ear to ear. Surely no one would fall for such a desperate attempt to look happy...

 **Mrs Wilson beamed. "Alright then sweetheart. If you're sure. I'm glad you're so happy here. A lot of the children have difficulties settling in, but it looks like you've found your new family!" She turned to leave. "Come on children, lunch time!" The other children filed out of the room, many purposely bumping into Leo on their way past. His smiling facade didn't falter until they were all gone. Once he was alone, it was like he was a puppet whose strings had been cut. Leo slumped, deflating with a sob, like all the life had been taken out of him. His eyes lost their happy shine and his smile disappeared. He looked just like the sad, scared boy he was. Putting his clothes and his ruined dragon back in his bag, Leo walked out after the kids, wiping the tears from his eyes.**

...

Leo lasted a day in the foster home. At lunch, Troy pushed him over so that all his food fell on the ground, then told Mrs Wilson that it was a complete accident. He "accidently" used Leo's only clothes to clean up the mess, supposedly thinking they were rags, continued to mock Leo's then very strong Hispanic accent until all the other kids joined in and made him cry, and "accidentally" locked him in a cupboard for an hour until Mrs Wilson found him.

But the last straw was when Troy found Leo's picture of his mother.

 **"Who wants to see me burn Leo's mummy?" Troy yelled gleefully to the other kids, holding the photograph he had snatched up after it fell out of Leo's pocket. The kids cheered in agreement, following Troy to the playroom.**

 **"No! Please! Please don't!" Leo cried, trying to get the picture back. Troy laughed, shutting the door and pulling out a cigarette lighter. Troy lit the lighter and held it beneath the picture. The kids started to cheer and chant. Leo continued to beg.**

 **"Please! It's all I have of her!" Troy ignored him and touched the flame to the photo. Immediately it started to blacken and burn around the edges. Leo started to cry.**

 **"Say goodbye, loser!" Troy grinned, holding the now burning photo in Leo's face. Leo was now bawling, desperately trying to claw the photo out of Troy's hands, but he kept snatching it out of his reach. The fire reached his mother's face, bubbling and distorting the photo so that it looked like she was screaming. And, watching this, a morbid reimagining of what had actually happened to his mother only a few hours earlier, something in Leo snapped. He crumpled to the ground, letting out a wail of pure grief and agony. It was a long, drawn out, heart wrenching wail that barely sounded human- so full of pain and torment, that even Troy looked worried. He quickly gained his composure.**

 **"Shut up! Shut up! I said shut up you stupid shit!" But Leo couldn't stop. He just wailed and wailed, tears streaming down his face in an endless river. Troy tried to keep his scowl on his face, but Leo's reaction had affected him more than he let on. He hadn't meant for this. Only tears, maybe, and laughter on his part. He hadn't expected this horrible screaming-wailing response from Leo. He hadn't expected this much pain.**

 **"SHUT UP!" He threw** **down the photo and stomped out the flames. The kids stopped cheering.**

 **"Hey, why'd you put it out?" One of his cronies asked. Troy glanced at Leo, who was curled on the floor, hugging the burnt photo to his chest, rocking and crying.**

 **"It-uh started to burn me. Why do you care? You're such a loser!" He glared at the other kids, looking panicked. "Get out of here. Just go die or something! Bugger off!" The other kids quickly ran out of the room. Troy glanced at Leo. He looked like he was going to help him up, but then he walked over and kicked him fiercely in the side.**

 **"Worthless piece of shit." He snarled, and walked away.**

 **...**

Leo ran that night. He packed what was left of his belongings into his duffle bag and ran. Out into the street, lit by the evening's first stars and the streetlights that were just starting to flicker on, casting patches of bright yellow light and deep shadows. And Leo ran. Ran as fast as his tiny, skinny legs would carry him, down the street, around the corner, _away_. As far far away as he could. Away from Troy, away from that house, away from the ashes of his mother's machine shop, still smouldering.

And all the while he cried. He never stopped crying. He wouldn't stop, not for the rest of his life.

Leo Valdez ran away that night.

And he never looked back.


	8. Chapter 8

**Hi everyone. Sorry it's a bit late. Hope it's ok :-)**

 **(Also, I was asked in one of the reviews if I could unfreeze Leo. I had plans to unfreeze him at the end, but if people want him to be unfrozen now then I will be happy to. Tell me what you think in the reviews and if most people want him unfrozen, I will do so next chapter.)**

PIPER

Piper didn't know what to feel. She was shocked, yes, but also worried, angry, ashamed and completely heartbroken to see her best friend be treated like he had in the last memory, and in all the memories so far. No. Leo was more than just a best friend. He was like a brother to her. She loved him and had been through so much with him. Her memories still confused her, but she knew that he was her first proper friend at the wilderness school, or ever, since none of the bitchy girls at the private schools she'd been sent to had wanted anything to do with her. And she had been fine with that, been fine with being a loner, that is, until she'd met him. Angry, upset and scared, yet still able to crack a joke and smile. She had liked him for his stupid sense of humour and for never looking at her with the judgemental stares she was so accustomed to. But, if she was being completely honest, she had never thought about his past, and what must have happened to him to make him act the way he had when they'd first met- flinching away from her touch, sneering if anyone got too close, always on edge. Eventually as his trust grew, he'd stopped acting like his, and adopted the humour they were all used to. What with the fogginess of her memories and the sudden quest, she had completely forgotten about his original fear and hostility. She may have not been the most supportive friend, but she tried her best and she just wanted him to be happy, because gods knew he deserved to be. Piper looked up, startled from her thoughts by Jason placing his hand on hers. She smiled, thankful for the support. Together, they turned back to the memory.

 **Leo sat on the kerb, staring sadly at the cracked tarmack, trying to hold back tears. An older woman carrying shopping bags walked past and noticed him. She knelt down to his level, putting her bags down on the footpath.**

 **"Are you alright, sweetie? What's wrong? Are you lost?" Leo looked up at her, grief shining in his eyes, and shook his head. "Why are you all alone then, sweetie? Where's your mum?" Leo immediately burst into tears, curling into a ball and sobbing. "Oh. Oh dear. Shh, it's ok. Don't cry." She stood up, pulling out her phone.**

 **"I'm just going to call someone who'll help you, ok little boy? Little boy? Hey! Where are you going?" Leo had taken off running, a terrified look in his eyes. He didn't stop until he had put the length of the block between them, before rounding the corner into an alleyway and hiding behind a dumpster, pantin** **g. Leo lived on the streets after that. He lived mostly in alleyways or at the back of shops, surviving off food that he scavenged from bins. His clothes got gradually worse in condition, as he had left any spares back at the foster home.** **He had many runins like with the woman during his time on the streets- sympathetic adults who were concerned to see a young child on their own. But Leo didn't want their help. He didn't want them to call child services and get put in another foster home. On top of that, Mrs Wilson had obviously told the police that he was gone, so they were on the look out too.**

 **Leo spent most of his nights shivering in the dark, sobbing himself to sleep. He looked up to the stars, cradling his mother's picture and crying.**

 **"Lo siento mamá, lo siento, lo siento. Todo es mi culpa."** ** _(I'm sorry mama, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Everything is my fault.)_** **He started to sob, rocking back and forth.** **"Q-quiero** **que vuelvas... p-por favour vuelve a m-mi. Te... te necesito. _(I want you to come back... please come back to me. I... I need you.)_ He was bawling now. "Te necesito, te necesito, te necesito!" He covered his face with his hands, breathing fast, trying to calm himself, to end his pain. It didn't work. Leo turned his face up to the night sky and howled.**

 **And no one heard.**

 **...**

 **One day, about a week after he'd been on the run, he walked past a shop window and saw his own face staring back in a missing persons poster. In the picture he was smiling, eyes crinkling with joy, skin glowing and healthy.**

 **Leo looked at his current reflection in the glass-** **dark olive skin faded to a pale, washed out white; clothes barely hanging off him in tatters, covered in mud and grime- along with the rest of him; ribs sticking out through his skin. He had a dark, haunted look in his eyes and his eyes were bloodshot from crying. His face was gaunt, cheeks hollow from lack of food. He'd always been skinny, but his lack of knowledge or ability to get food and his small frame meant that he had quickly become malnourished.**

Piper shuddered. She hated seeing him like this. It was so wrong, so horrible- a child shouldn't be that thin. He was practically skin and bone. It made her feel sick. To be honest, she'd always been kind of concerned at how scrawny Leo was- it didn't seem healthy- but this was a whole new level, especially on a young child.

 **Leo stared long and hard at his reflection, frowned, and then suddenly stood up straight, slapping a smile onto his face. He relaxed and then smiled again. And again. He tried variations- big smiles, small smiles, with teeth and without.**

Piper felt a surge of hope- maybe he was finally happy. But when she watched him relax and take a deep breath before smilingly again, a sick feeling of realisation settled in her stomach.

"He's practicing." She breathed out loud.

"What?" Frank looked at her, confused, but she could see that Hazel and Annabeth understood.

"He's... he's practicing his smile. He's trying to get his smile right. Trying to make it look real." Hazel looked pale as she said this. Piper couldn't blame her.

 **Suddenly, the store owner stormed out.**

 **"Oi, kid! Piss off! You're scaring off the customers!" He looked at Leo and his face changed from anger to shock as he took in Leo's appearance. He glanced at the poster in the window.**

 **"Hang on... hey! You're that kid! The missing one!" Leo's eyes widened. Maybe it wasn't the best idea to stand next to your own missing poster. He took off but the man was faster. He lunged at Leo, grabbing him around the waist. Leo's momentum meant that he spun around and almost fell over, but the man didn't let go.**

 **"Hey!** **Someone call the police. Tell them we've found him." The man said to one of the stunned onlookers. They pulled out a phone.**

 **It was at this point that Leo started to fight and scream.**

 **"Let me go! Let go!" He started to kick and scratch the man, writhing and twisting, trying to escape. "Help! Get him off!" The man was holding him so that Leo's back was against him, so couldn't kick him properly and his punches landed no where. The man scowled, grimacing as Leo elbowed him in the gut in desperation.**

 **"Stop fighting, kid! Jesus you're ungrateful! Your parents are probably worried sick! What did they do to deserve you running away and scaring them?" Leo continued to fight, scratching and clawing to get away.**

 **"I don't have parents!" He howled, before swinging both his legs up and back again,making the man stumble from his shifting weight. Leo broke free and tried to run, but several other men who were watching grabbed him and pinned him down. Leo started to scream, trying to get up.**

 **"Shut up, kid! Quit screaming!" One of them roared. Smoke started to billow from Leo's body and sparks flew from his hands. He looked like he was about to catch fire and burn the men, but he had almost zero energy from lack of food. Police sirens echoed in the distance, warbling and strange as Leo started to lose conciousness. His vision became blurred and he could hear his heart beating above the other noise before the world faded to black.**

Piper felt sick. She just wanted to reach into the memory and give poor Leo a hug and some proper food. Or maybe that was just her maternal instincts kicking in. Whatever the case, she was horrified. Leo had had to survive on the streets for a week with almost no food at _eight years old._ She probably wouldn't be able to do that _now_ , at almost sixteen. She glanced over to the real Leo, still frozen. He was so thin. She noticed now the bags under his eyes and the forcefulness of his smile. She wondered what he would have thought of them watching his memories. It did feel like a bit of an invasion of privacy, and he probably actually wouldn't be happy about it, but at the same time, Piper desperately wanted to know more about her friend. She wanted to help him, and to do that she needed to understand him. The memories were the best way to do that.

She turned back to the memory.

 **...**

 **"-minor cuts and bruises..."**

 **All Leo could see was black.**

 **"-malnutrition is the biggest problem we'll have to address..."**

 **He heard warbling snippets of hushed conversation.**

 **"-told the mother yet?"**

 **He felt cold. He wasn't sure why. He was lying on something rough.**

 **"-ran from the foster home last week..."**

 **His arms hurt. There was something on his face.**

 **"-worried sick. Poor woman..."**

 **He heaved his eyelids open.**

 **Leo was greeted by blazing white lights directly above him. He squinted, sitting up and looked around. He was in a hospital ward, lying in a bed under rough sheets that did little to keep out the cold of the room. He looked down. Various tubes were sticking out of his arms, connecting him to machines and bags of fluid. He touched his face. A nasogastric tube was taped to his cheek, traveling up his nose and into his stomach, feeding him. Leo's heart rate increased. He looked around panicked. The room was empty. He started pulling out the tubes in his arms one by one. He was concentrating so much on pulling them out that he didn't see a nurse come in.**

 **"Oh Leo, you're awake- hey! What are you doing?" Leo's head darted up. Leo kicked off his sheets, leaping off the bed before crying out in pain as the remaining tubes tugged harshly in his arm. The nurse hurried over, trying to stay calm.**

 **"Hey, hey careful there. Don't hurt yourself. It is Leo, right? I'm Sarah." Leo didn't answer, instead trying to pull out the rest of the tubes. Sarah quickly grabbed his hands, buzzing for assistance on the button beside Leo's bed.**

 **"Okay, I can see you're a bit... worried about waking up here, and that's perfectly fine, but you need to stay in bed ok? And no pulling out your tubes. You need them."**

 **"** **I need to leave!" Leo started to struggle against her.**

 **"Hey, it's okay. Relax. All the doctors are very nice here. We just want to help you, okay? We won't hurt you. You don't have to leave. Let's get you back to bed, alright? And maybe give you some gas to calm you down." She tried to guide Leo back to the bed, but he dug his heels into the ground, refusing to move. The nurse pushed the assistance button again.**

 **"Leo, you need to cooperate now. We can't help you if you resist us. We need you to be healthy. As soon as you're well enough, your social worker will be able to take you to your new foster home. "**

 **"No! You can't make me! I don't want to!" He started to kick out Sarah, who looked desperately at the doorway as another nurse came rushing into the room, holding a syringe.**

 **"NO!" Leo screamed.**

 **"Hold him still!" The new nurse barked at Sarah, who pinned Leo's arms by his sides while he screamed.**

 **...**

 **When Leo woke up the second time, he had an oxygen mask on. Something in it was making him feel sleepy and relaxed whenever he breathed in. He didn't like it.** **Sarah the nurse and Tiffany, the social worker who had taken him to the first foster home, were sitting opposite him, talking quietly. Tiffany looked up and smiled when she saw he was awake.**

 **"Hello Leo. How are you feeling?" Leo sat up bolt upright, eyes filled with panic. He reached up to pull his mask off.**

 **"Leo." Sarah said with a warning tone, "We don't want a repeat of last time. If you cause trouble we're just going to have to make you go to sleep again." Leo let his hand drop. Sarah smiled. "Good boy."**

 **She looked over to where Tiffany was standing. "I'll leave you two to talk in private. Press the assistance button if he does anything."**

 **Tiffany nodded, smiling in thanks as Sarah left.**

 **"Okay Leo." Tiffany said, pulling up a chair next to his bed as he sat up. "Now the nurses tell me that you are very malnourished. Do you know what that means?" Leo nodded. "So you know that it's a bad thing then, don't you?" Leo nodded again. "Leo, running away was a very silly thing to do. You made poor Mrs Wilson very worried and upset, and you put yourself in grave danger. You have made yourself very sick and you could have even died." Leo looked down at his hands, which were playing with the hem of his blanket. He wouldn't meet her eyes.**

 **"Leo, can you tell me why you ran away?" Leo didn't answer her. "Was there something wrong with the house? Was Mrs Wilson mean to you?" Leo shook his head. "Was..." Tiffany seemed to be trying to choose her words carefully. "Was Mrs Wilson too much like your mother?" Leo's head shot up, his eyes red.**

 **"Mrs Wilson is _nothing_ like my mamá! She just sat there eating biscuits! She didn't help me! She didn't care!"**

 **"Okay Leo, I need you to calm down. Just take some deep breaths, okay? The gas will help you relax." Leo tore the mask of his face.**

 **"Leo!" Tiffany held her hand over the assistance button. "I _will_ call the nurses. Put your mask back on and calm down. I just want to help you."**

 **Leo reluctantly put the mask back on, breathing in the gas. Tiffany sighed.**

 **"Leo, I can see that you aren't happy with being put in foster care, but your relatives won't take you in and it's the only option right now. Maybe Mrs Wilson's house wasn't right for you, but you can't just run away. That's dangerous and makes everyone very worried. If you don't like it at a foster home, just ask to talk to me, okay? We'll find you another one. One you'll like. Just no running away. How does that sound?" Leo's face crumpled.**

 **"I don't want to go to another foster home! I don't want you to find somewhere else!" He started to cry. "I want my mamá back! I want her back!"**

 **"Leo, your mother isn't coming back, no matter how much you want her to. We need to look for another solution right now. And foster care is that solution."**

 **"No!"**

 **"Yes, Leo. I know this is hard for you bu-"**

 **"NO! I Don't want to! You can't make me!" He kicked off his sheets and tried to run. Tiffany buzzed for help. Sarah came running in, syringe in hand, and Leo's world went black once again.**

 **...**

 **Leo stayed in the hospital for a week, until the doctors decided that he was well enough to be discharged. Tiffany came in with some new clothes for him, and told him that she was going to take him to his new foster home.**

 **That didn't go down well.**

 **So Leo was wrestled into the car and taken to his new home on the other side of the city. By the time they got there he had calmed down considerably, though he had tear stains down his cheeks and his throat was sore from screaming. When they pulled up at the big grey-roofed house, Tiffany turned around in her seat.**

 **"Leo, I know this his hard for you, but I want you to try and stay calm. This lady has offered to take you in. She didn't have to do that. So we want to be as polite as possible so that she doesn't regret her decision, alright? Can you do that?" Leo nodded weakly. Together, they walked up to the front door, and as Tiffany knocked, Leo cried.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hi! I'm so sorry this took so long, but the last two weeks of term were crazy. I had so many tests and assessments. But the good news is that it's the holidays now! So in theory, I should have two solid weeks of writing time, which is good. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter, and please review!**

 **(Also CrazinessExtreme mentioned something about Teresa. I don't know who that is. Is she mentioned in the books? If so which one? It's been a while since I've read them so I don't remember who she is. If anyone can tell me, that would be great. Thanks.)**

PERCY

Percy couldn't describe how bad he felt. If he was being completely honest, he'd never really appreciated Leo as much as he should have. Frankly, he'd found him kind of annoying. Of course he'd respected Leo, to some degree. But the guy seemed to only be around to fix things, make Hazel flustered and crack jokes that lowered Frank's self esteem. And then of course, there had been the whole firing on New Rome fiasco. He knew that it wasn't Leo's fault and that he shouldn't let it affect his relationship with Leo, but it had. He knew nothing about the guy- he seemed almost crazy when Percy had first met him. He could have betrayed them all at any point. Percy knew that really anyone on that ship could have, but for some reason, Leo had seemed the most likely person to do it. Yeah that wasn't a fair judgement. Percy knew it. He felt immensely guilty for misjudging Leo like that, especially once he saw how smart he was, and how hard he worked, and how loyally he fought. By the time he'd sacrificed his life to destroy Gaia, Percy had formed a lot of respect for the guy. He had hated himself for not being able to save him.

But that didn't mean that he knew anything about Leo, or his past, or even what he did all day when he wasn't working. Percy tried to get to know all his crew members and campers, but Leo was a complete mystery to him. Or at least he had been until now. The memories had shocked him more than he'd like to admit. At first he thought that it was some kind of practical joke from Hera- these memories couldn't be real. Leo was too happy all the time. Anyone who had this kind of horrible past would be… well they would be like Nico used to be before he had settled in at Camp Half-Blood- angry, afraid and closed off from everyone else. But now he was sure that these were Leo's memories. And he felt terrible for how he had judged Leo. Leo wasn't the hyperactive, crazy jokester he thought he was. He was a lot more mature than he'd thought.

Percy rubbed his face with his hands, sighing, and turned back to the memory.

 **The woman who opened the door was tall and bony, with black hair scraped back tightly into a perfect bun. She smiled with bright red lips that matched her caked-on face. There was something slightly off, slightly sinister about her smile however, that made Leo take a step back.**

 **"I don't want- I don't think- I can't-" He fumbled over his words, trying to convey his mistrust for this woman.**

 **"Leo." Tiffany said warningly, trying to stay kind. "Come on now. We've talked about this."**

 **"Yes boy. Listen to your caseworker. Don't be so disrespectful!" Leo looked panicked. Tiffany pushed him forward and into the house. The hallway was dim and long, the floor glossy and wooden.**

 **"Right. Thank you, Josephine-"**

 **"Mrs Yang! Do you think I would answer to _Josephine_?"**

 **"Right." Tiffany said again, looking awkward. "I'm very sorry Mrs Yang."**

 **"It's perfectly fine." Mrs Yang said, her tone icy. "I'm sorry for my rudeness. I shouldn't have yelled. I just have very strong etiquette standards. You must never call an elder by their first name." Tiffany nodded, clearing her throat.**

 **"Well, I have a few forms for you, Mrs Yang."**

 **"I see. Let me get a pen. I'll be happy to sign them."**

 **While Mrs Yang and Tiffany organised the signing of the forms, Leo looked around him at the house. It was completely silent. He had been told that there were three other children living here. Where were they? He looked at Mrs Yang again. She would never replace his mother. She was too harsh, to cruel and sharp-looking. He missed his mother so much it hurt. He didn't want to be here. He didn't trust this woman- he couldn't shake the feeling that there was something off about her. Leo felt tears prickling in his eyes. He sniffed, rubbing his eyes. Mrs Yang's head snapped to the side towards him, eyes full of loathing. She looked like she desperately wanted to hurt him, or at least yell at him, but Tiffany was there, so she couldn't. Leo backed away.**

 **"Alright." Tiffany said after what had seemed like an eternity. "That's all the signing done. Thank you Mrs Yang. I hope Leo will be happy here."**

 **"I hope so too." Mrs Yang's lips twisted into a thin smile.**

 **"And remember, Leo," Tiffany knelt down to his level, "You can always call me if you need to." She stood up and waved goodbye as Mrs Yang showed her out. Leo wanted to grab her legs like he used to when he didn't his mother to leave. He wanted to go with her, not stay in this dark house with this scary woman.**

 **As soon as Tiffany left, Mrs Yang turned to Leo.**

 **"Stop crying boy! Do you think I except such an overreaction in my house? It is completely pathetic. From now on, you live in my house, and you will follow my rules. And one of them is no sadness. You must always be happy. Do you understand? No tears, no shouting, no frowning. Those negative emotions are a complete waste of time and you will be punished if you ever show them."**

 _No negative emotions?_ Percy couldn't believe what he was hearing. How could anyone, let alone a kid, not have negative emotions? Especially one who had lost his mother a week before and had been bullied and verbally abused. Not to mention he had had to live on the streets with almost no food or shelter. No negative emotions? That was ridiculous. It was an impossible ask.

Percy thought about his own eight year old self. While his mum had always said he'd had a strange maturity about him as a child, he had also had moments, just like any young child, of complete and overwhelming emotions. Of course, he'd had joy and excitement that he couldn't contain when he opened Christmas presents, or they went to the waterpark near their apartment or, even better, when they went to the beach. But he'd also had plenty of experiences of anger and outrage when he didn't get what he wanted, usually involving temper tantrums and all the taps in the vicinity to mysteriously turn on. While most of the time he was calm and easy going, he had to admit that often his emotions had controlled him rather than the other way around. It was a perfectly normal, perfectly human thing to have negative emotions occasionally. To tell someone they weren't allowed to have them was crazy.

 **Leo swallowed hard, rubbing his eyes quickly. Mrs Yang sneered at him in disgust as he sniffed, rubbing his running nose and eyes with the same hand.**

 **"Filthy boy." She muttered, grabbing his wrist and dragging him after her. Leo stumbled, trying to catch up. Mrs Yang led him down a pristine hallway to an even more pristine bedroom. The three other children he'd been told about were there- sitting on their beds, bent over what looked like homework. They looked up as Mrs Yang and Leo walked in, radiant smiles on their faces, as if they were impossibly happy to see the two of them.**

Despite being big and over the top, their smiles seemed real. Their eyes crinkled with smile lines. Percy was almost fooled into thinking they were genuine. But then he remembered what Mrs Yang had said to Leo. No negative emotions. You had to be happy. These children were faking smiles out of fear, and they were good at it too.

Leo didn't realise.

 **Leo gave a weak smile in return, his body relaxing. Mrs Yang dragged him over to each child in turn. The first was a tall, slim girl with glossy black hair. She looked about fourteen.**

 **"This is my daughter, Jasmine. My _real_ daughter that is." She added with a pointed look at Leo, as if to tell him to back off. He'd never measure up to her. She came first. "She's the smartest person you will ever meet. You will respect her." It was more of a command than a statement.**

Jasmine smiled at Leo again. Percy couldn't tell if it was real or not. It looked real, she acted like it was real, but he didn't trust it. He didn't trust any of these kids.

 **Unfortunately, Leo was oblivious. He barely registered Mrs Yang's gloating. He was too relieved at being accepted for once to care.**

 **Mrs Yang pulled him over to the next child, a boy, maybe two years older than Leo, with dark brown skin, messy hair and pale eyes.**

 **"This is Harry." Mrs Yang said with a hint of disgust. "Don't talk to him. He's nothing but a troublesome wretch." She turned to him. "But then again, all you Blacks are trouble. Filthy little Negro." She sneered. Harry beamed, despite her cruel comment.**

 ** _(A/N I mean no offence by Mrs Yang's statement. It does not represent my views in any way, but the views of this particular character. This is true for any racism/sexism/homophobia in any chapters. Thank you.)_**

 **Leo frowned, confused at his reaction.**

 **"What is that frown for? Smile, boy!" Mrs Yang snapped, and Leo quickly smiled at Harry. The last child was a small girl, about nine years old. She had a small, thin face and gold ringlets. She was pretty, except for a strange bruise on her face.**

 **"This is Eloise. Don't talk to her either. She's fat and hideous." Mrs Yang snapped, sneering. Eloise smiled happily at the comment, and Leo smiled warily back, looking even more confused. Mrs Yang turned to Leo.**

 **"Now, there aren't enough beds so you'll be sleeping on the floor. I bought you a pillow so be grateful. And no complaining. If I hear a single complaint from you you'll be sleeping in the laundry. Understand?" Leo nodded.**

 **Mrs Yang turned and left the room, slamming the door. Immediately, all three of the children slumped. Jasmine punched the bed in anger, Harry covered his face with his hands and poor little Eloise started to cry silently. Leo stood by his makeshift bed and stared at them in shock. Jasmine leapt to her feet, rage clear on her face.**

 **"God, I could kill that woman sometimes!" She growled, starting to mutter things under her breath in a language Leo didn't understand. She sighed, before turning to him.**

 **"I'm so sorry about her. My mum is just a racist old bully who loves to play favourites. Don't listen to anything she says." She went to say something else, but stopped herself.**

Percy wondered what she was holding back.

 **Jasmine noticed Eloise. She sighed again, quickly glancing at the door before kneeling in front of the little girl.**

 **"Don't cry, Eloise. I promise you that you're not ugly, or fat- not at all. You are beautiful, ok? She's just being mean. She's just a horrible old woman. Don't listen to her." Eloise sniffed loudly. Jasmine furtively glanced at the door, a look of fear on her face.**

 **"Shh! She'll hear you!" Her voice softened as she wiped away the little girls tears. "Don't cry. You know what happens if she sees you cry." All the children simultaneously turned to the closed door.**

Percy wondered what they were all so terrified of. What about Mrs Yang had them all walking on eggshells? She was just a racist old woman with a bad temper. But the way they looked at the door, eyes filled with terror at being caught showing emotion, made Percy suspect there was something more.

 **Jasmine turned back to Leo.**

 **"I'm Jasmine by the way. You already know that, but I just wanted to introduce me _myself_. I don't need that witch introducing me. 'This is Jasmine. Isn't she just so pretty? Isn't she just so smart? She's my daughter, isn't she great?'." Jasmine rolled her eyes. "It's ridiculous. So yeah, I'm not some _goddess_ , I'm normal, I swear. Or at least I try to be." She cracked a smile, and, as genuine as her previous smiles had looked, this one was so honest and obviously real that they suddenly seemed glaringly fake in comparison. Leo grinned in return, sliding his bag off his shoulder and onto the ground by his pillow.**

 **"You don't talk much." Jasmine noted. "So, what's your name?"**

 **Leo opened his mouth, but no sound came out. It was unusual for him to have to say his name- he wasn't used to it. For the past month, his life had consisted of a blur of medical professionals and child service workers. None of them had asked his name. They either didn't care and just checked his vital signs and nutrition levels silently or they would just look at the information sheet at the end of his bed and call him by the name written there. He wasn't worth asking about his name. It didn't matter to them that his mother had only called him Leonidas because the rest of the family said he needed a more respectable name than Leo. It didn't matter that she and he had both hated the name Leonidas, or that they both had called him Leo all his life. Leo swallowed hard.**

 **"L-Leo." He answered quietly.**

 **Jasmine smiled. "Hi Leo."**

 **Harry sat up and crawled across his bed, the closest one to Leo's sorry excuse for a bed. "Hi, Leo!" He smiled at Leo too. Leo gave him a grin back. Eloise joined them, forming a strange triangle of expectant eyes.**

 **"So…?" Harry asked, trying to prompt him. Leo's smile faded as he realised what they wanted- an explanation. Why was he here? Where were his parents? What was his story?Unfortunately, Leo couldn't tell them. He could try, but he knew he couldn't make himself talk. And what would they think if he did manage to talk- if they knew that he had killed his own mother? They all had big smiles on their faces, looking open and inviting, but Leo balked, backing away.**

 **"N-no, I-" His eyes grew red. The confrontation was happening again.**

 **Suddenly, the door flew open and Mrs Yang stormed in.**

 **"Dinner! Get up! Get up! UP! I said get up, you stupid children!"**

 **The three kids leapt to their feet and turned to her, beaming, bodies like puppets. Back straight. Chest out. Big smile.**

 **Only one child didn't smile. He tried to. He really did. His lips raised up, he stood up straight. It was his eyes that let him down. Because they had the beginnings of tears in them, and they were open wide, instead of crinkled with smile lines. It was a fake smile, and Mrs Yang saw through it. She marched over, shoving the other kids out the way, and grabbed Leo by the collar of his shirt, lifting him up onto his toes. The rest of his body was limp and his eyes were scared as they looked into hers. Her face was inches from his and she spat her words through her teeth, rage barely contained.**

 **"What is this?" She grabbed his face with her talon-like nails. "Are these _tears_?" Leo's breathing hitched in fear.**

 **"Do you think, Leo Valdez, that just because it is your first day here in this house that you are exempt from its rules? From _my_ rules? Do you think that you are above my rules?"**

 **Leo shook his head as much as he could with her holding his face.**

 **" _No?_ So you _don't_ think you are above my rules?" Leo shook his head again. Mrs Yang's face twisted with rage.**

 **" _Then why are you crying?_ " She screamed in his face. Leo's whole body started to shake.**

 **" _Stop. Shaking_." Mrs Yang growled through her teeth. Leo managed to stop.**

 **"Good. Now, smile. _I said smile!_ " Leo tried his best to smile, but it wasn't enough. He didn't know how to fake a smile, not really. His attempt may have fooled poor naive Mrs Wilson, but not Mrs Yang.**

 **"That isn't a smile!" She threw him down in anger and lifted her hand to slap him.**

 **"Mother!" Jasmine cried quickly, and Mrs Yang turned to her, seething. She looked like she was going to slap Jasmine instead of Leo for interrupting her, but Jasmine cut in quickly.**

 **"I mean no disrespect, but I think you might be mistaken. Leo's crying out of joy. He is so happy to have made friends with us that he's overwhelmed. He's completely happy!" Jasmine smiled joyfully. Mrs Yang scowled at her daughter, staring at her for a few seconds, before she suddenly lunged forward and grabbed her by her hair, wrapping the girl's long black hair around her fist close to the scalp so that she couldn't move. Jasmine's eyes flashed terror, but it was replaced with a smile just as fast. Her mother gave her a quick slap across the face, but Jasmine's fast thinking had stopped it becoming something worse. Mrs Yang let go of her daughter and walked to the door.**

 **"Hurry up! I said it's dinner time. It'll be cold now because of Leo! _Hurry up!_ " Eloise and Harry silently filed after her out of the room, but Jasmine remained, helping Leo to his feet. She checked the door before saying quietly, "Look Leo, I want to be your friend, and I'm happy for you to be my foster brother, but that was too close. We have an unwritten rule here. You don't get helped and you don't help anyone else. If someone messes up and doesn't smile right, it's their fault. They get punished, but the rest of us won't interfere. Every man for himself, you know? We can't risk our safety for someone else. Mum doesn't like hurting me, so I can usually get away with small things, but this is the last time I'll help you. I can't take anymore bullets for you, so unless you want to be beaten, I suggest you learn how to smile, and learn fast." She gave him a weak smile and walked out, Leo trailing numbly behind her.**

 **…**

 **It turned out that the delicious smells coming from the kitchen weren't what Mrs Yang had meant by "dinner". No, the roast chicken and vegetables were all for her, which she ate while the children watched, stomachs grumbling. No. What she meant when she said "dinner" was a piece of bread each with butter. And that was the first thing Leo learnt in that house- self restraint. Every meal they would stand in silence, unmoving, watching Mrs Yang eat her pancakes, or her beef wrap, or her chicken pie. They would stand and smile, so happy to watch her eat all this delicious food, meanwhile hunger was clawing their insides. Sometimes they would get bread, sometimes overripe fruit that Mrs Yang didn't want, sometimes nothing at all.**

 **They didn't go to school, instead, Mrs Yang "homeschooled" them. At least that's what she told the authorities. In reality, their homeschooling consisted of doing chores and hard labour. Moving big rocks in her garden, fixing the shower, folding mountains of washing. They had to do all these chores perfectly and with a constant smile on their face. All four children would collapse in their room at the end of the day, exhausted, their faces aching from smiling. Leo had been shocked by Mrs Yang's aggression towards him on his first day, and by her slapping Jasmine, but he soon realised that that was _nothing_. When Harry dropped a plate onto the floor, she threw him down and hit him until he was covered in bruises. When Eloise burnt her hand on the stove and cried out in pain, Mrs Yang screamed in her face and slapped her so hard that she had a hand print on her face for the next three days. And both of these times, all the children had continued smiling. Harry had burst into helpless laughter as she beat him. It had disturbed Leo to see them smiling as she hurt them. He wanted to leave, he couldn't watch. He wanted to help. But Jasmine had grabbed his hand and grabbed it so hard her knuckles turned white and his bones felt like they would break, all the while smiling serenely, as if watching little children be hurt was the most joyful thing in the world.**

 **"Smile." She'd hissed at him. "Or she'll hurt you too."**

 **It was when they finally were given a rest each day, and could hide away in the safe haven that was their shared bedroom that Leo learnt the second thing he had to know to survive in Mrs Yang's house- how to fake a smile.**

 **"No no no. See how your eyes aren't crinkling? They need to crinkle. That's one of the signs of a real smile." Jasmine corrected him, standing behind him as he practiced in the mirror. "Your eyes are too vacant. It looks like you're staring off into the distance. You're meant to be smiling about what she's said or done, so look at her. Stay alert when you smile. She's the centre of your attention. Yeah, like that. Good." Each day, his smile got better and better, becoming more and more realistic thanks to Jasmine's constant alterations.**

 **Unfortunately, Leo still wasn't as good at faking smiles as the other children. He broke easily, and would often cry himself to sleep at night- lost in horrible nightmares and all consuming thoughts of death and pain that made it hard to breathe. He would cry about his mother, and his fear, and his lost life, but most of all about the horrible, cold loneliness that was starting to grow inside him, which would continue to grow for the rest of his life.**

 **It was during one of these times, late at night, that Mrs Yang caught him crying. He tried to be silent, but that night, the pain was too much. Harry and the other children looked at him from their beds with pleading eyes.**

 **"Stop. Be quiet. She'll hear you!" Harry whispered frantically. Leo shoved his fist in his mouth to muffle his sobs, and when that didn't work, he buried his face in his pillow. The door swung open, and the three other children shrank back, feigning sleep. The light switched on and Leo was dragged to his feet by his hair. And then she beat him. And while she beat him, hitting him and punching him until he could barely think, she hurled insults that would scar him just as much as the deep cuts her talons made in him. Leo Valdez would never have confidence in himself again. He would never feel worthy, or important, or loved. He would always be a scrawny, horrible boy who should never have been born. He would be a waste of space and air who was better off dead. He was a mistake. Mrs Yang made sure he would never forget it. Her words would never leave his brain. And so it was no wonder that his bruises and cuts didn't hurt half as much as his aching, aching soul.**

 **…**

 **The next day, he asked to ring Tiffany. Barely able to walk and covered in bruises, his voice shook as he asked Mrs Yang.**

 **"Why?" She snapped, though it was obvious why. "Don't you like it here? Aren't you _happy_?" The subtext was as clear as if she'd said it out loud: You'd _better_ be happy.**

 **"I-I… of course I'm happy." Leo grinned. He was terrified.**

 **"Then why do you want to call your case worker?"**

 **"I… I just do. It's not… not for any particular reason. I, um, I just need to call her." Mrs Yang stared at him for a few seconds, but then her thin lips twisted into a cruel smirk.**

 **"Ok then. Let's give dear Tiffany a call, shall we?" She picked up the phone and dialled Tiffany's private number. It rang for a few seconds, but the she picked up.**

 **"Hello? Tiffany Bragson, child protection services. Is this Mrs Yang?"**

 **"Yes. Yes it is. I have young Leo here, he wants to talk to you." Her tone was acidic, but her words dripped like honey. She shoved the phone into Leo's hands. Leo gulped. He took the phone away from his mouth, turning to Mrs Yang.**

 **"Um, I-I kind of wanted to talk in-in private?"**

Percy wanted to slap the sugar-sweet smile off her face.

 **"Oh, did you now? I don't think that will be possible dear. No, you're talking to her right here. Why would you need to talk in private? You've got nothing to hide, haven't you?"**

 **"I… I guess."**

 **"Good boy." Leo put the phone back on his ear.**

 **"H-hello?"**

 **"Hello Leo. What is it you wanted to tell me?"**

 **"I wanted to say… to say…" Leo gulped. He glanced back at Mrs Yang, who was pressed up behind him, breathing down his neck. She was slowly wrapping her fingers around his neck, her long nails digging into his throat.**

 **"Go on." She said. "Tell her what you have to say."**

 **Leo whimpered.**

 **"I wanted to say… that I-" He took a deep breath and forced a smile onto his face. "That I love it here! It's really great. Mrs Yang is so nice and accepting. I feel like I have a family here. She's… she's almost as good as my mum was."**

 **" _Almost_ as good?" Mrs Yang whispered.**

 **"I-I mean she's even better than my mum!"**

 **"And you're glad your mummy is dead, aren't you, Leo?" She purred in his ear. A tear trickled down his cheek past his smile.**

 **"I'm… I'm so glad my mum died. She was nothing compared to Mrs Yang. I love Mrs Yang. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else."**

 **"That's wonderful, Leo!" Tiffany beamed. "Well, I have a meeting to go to now, but I'm so glad you feel like you're settling in at your new home." As soon as the phone hung up, Mrs Yang snatched it away and spun him round to face her, grabbing his face.**

 **"You will never ask to call her again, do you understand? You will never speak to her again because you love it here and you are happy here and you are never leaving here. Don't even think about touching that phone, or running away. We wouldn't want something _tragic_ to happen to you if you tried, now would we?"**

 **Leo spent that night crying until he had nothing left to cry out but the blood in his veins.**

 **…**

 **"It's good that you're smiling with your teeth- unless you just have a small smile on your face, a genuine smile will have teeth, and trust me, small smiles don't count here. But I shouldn't be able to see your bottom teeth. Real smiles, you only see top teeth."**

 **Eventually, his smiles became perfect. And they became permanent. A constant feature of his face, just as fixed as his eyes or nose. He rarely cried himself to sleep over his mother anymore, or looked sad. He would practically skip out of his room in the morning, when really he was dying inside. He forgot how to show emotion. Anger? He never yelled. It was an almost alien thing, showing sadness. He hadn't cried for almost half a year. She beat him less for smiling wrong, and more for small things now. It was almost like she did it for fun.**

 **There was no escape. He became like the other children- terrified of his own emotions, always looking over his shoulder, checking closed doors before he spoke. He did what Mrs Yang wanted on command. He was unflinching when she hurt the other children. It was all about survival and self preservation. You don't help others and they don't help you.**

 **He turned nine. He didn't celebrate his birthday. He felt more alone each day. The kids talked to him less and less. The world grew darker. There was no escape.**

 **No escape.**

 **…**

 **One day, Leo couldn't take it anymore. She could hurt him, she could kill him. He didn't care. He had to escape. He packed his bag, but he was smart this time. He climbed out of bed in the middle of the night and tiptoed to the kitchen. He filled his duffel bag with food and water and clothes. He was about to leave, but something made him stop. He walked back to the kitchen, and slowly and silently, he pulled a knife from the knife block. And then he unlocked the door and ran, heart pounding in his chest, into the unknown freedom and horror ahead.**


	10. Chapter 10

**IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

 **I'm so sorry! I know you all want a chapter and I was supposed to use these holidays to write lots but I'm having severe writers block. I mean I know what I want to write but it's not coming out right. I will endeavour to work past this and to produce something half decent.**

 **In the meantime, here are some head canons to help pass the time. I feel like Calypso, Leo, Will and Nico, despite their differences, would get along quite well, so here are some head canons about them and their friendship.**

 **Sorry if they're long, or not very good. I just thought something is better than nothing. :-)**

HEADCANONS:

-Calypso met Will for the first time about a month after she and Leo arrived at Camp Half-Blood. She was in the woods crying when she saw him. Leo had had a particularly bad nightmare the night before and had lashed out at her verbally (which was unusual for him) when she had tried to talk to him about it afterwards. An argument had followed, causing her to storm out of Bunker Nine and out into the woods in tears. She had collapsed against against a tree, thinking she was alone, only to find Will Solace sitting on the other side, also crying. Needless to say they had given each other quite a fright when they saw each other. When they had calmed down and realised that the other was crying, they started talking. It turned out a similar thing had happened to Will with Nico- Nico had had a nightmare and when Will tried to comfort him, Nico had started yelling at him and telling Will to get away from him. **(A/N This is before they get together and Nico still has trust issues)** Both Calypso and Will admitted how emotionally drained they were from trying to support someone who was in so much constant pain, and from having no one to talk to about it. They talked for hours, and afterwards they both felt a lot better. They both vowed to always be there for the other if they needed a shoulder to cry on or someone to talk to.

-Leo noticed that Calypso seemed to really like Will from the moment she met him, and, though he would never admit it, he got a bit jealous about their friendship (understatement of the century). He started freaking out and thinking that she liked him, because seriously, Will was way more attractive than Leo, wasn't scrawny or annoying and even knew lots about plants because he often used them for healing purposes. He was happy to spend hours discussing lavender and thyme with her and Leo kind of died inside every time they were together. But then it turned out Will was gay and started dating Nico. When Leo asked Calypso if she still had feelings for Will even though he wasn't straight, she laughed and called him a dork and gave him kisses, telling him that of course she didn't have feelings for Will, she never had. Why would she when she loved Leo? And Leo was so relieved and happy that he accidentally burst into flames and nearly burnt down half the camp.

-Nico never really liked Leo when he met him on the quest during the Giant War. He thought he was annoying. And loud. He also made Hazel uncomfortable, so Nico decided he wasn't to be trusted. When Will suddenly befriended Calypso, Nico went along with it because, well, it was Will. Calypso wasn't so bad- she was quiet and nice to him. But he still wasn't sure about Leo. Will was friendly to Leo, and seemed to get along with him, although Leo did seem a little awkward and untrusting of him at first. Leo had also talked to Nico, but Nico could tell that he creeped Leo out. This just made Nico dislike him more. It took him a while, but eventually Nico came to respect and, though he would die before he would admit it, came to like Leo. This was mainly because of one day when Nico was feeling particularly miserable and self-loathing, Leo had walked past and said hi. This wasn't what had affected him though. It was when, a moment later, an Ares camper came up to Nico and called him a freak and a faggot and dozens more things that made Nico want to fall down and give up on his life. Leo hadn't even hesitated. He'd stopped in his tracks and punched the guy so hard in the face that his nose broke and he fell over backwards. Nico had stood in stunned silence while Leo calmly pulled a drop cloth out of his tool belt and wiped the blood off his hand. Then he'd smiled at Nico and told him to go and have a great day. And the amazing thing was, Nico had done just that.

-Both Leo and Nico are extremely ticklish. They just have to be touched slightly and they'll be tickled, though they both react in different ways. Nico squirms and scrunches up his nose and makes little weird noises, whereas Leo curls up into a ball and starts whimpering and squeaking. Both Will and Calypso think this is the cutest thing ever and Leo and Nico often have to hide together to avoid their attackers.

-One day in the middle of spring, Calypso and Will decide to pick bouquets of flowers for their boyfriends as a surprise. They spend hours scouring the fields and woods for wildflowers, and even enlist the help of a few nymphs and satyrs to find the nicest ones. Both boys are so happy that Nico looses control of his Hades powers and accidentally disintegrates his flowers and Leo's hands catch fire and burn his to ashes. All Calypso and Will can do is sigh and shake their heads at the embarrassed look on their boyfriend's faces.

-For Nico's birthday, Will, Calypso and Leo all work together on a present. Calypso weaves him a shirt, Leo mixes the dyes and Will dyes it. They all wait expectantly as he opens it, hoping to all the gods that he'll like it. As a matter of fact, he loves it. Ok so yes, Will got a bit carried away with the dye so it's orange and purple and yellow and red and green all tie-dyed together in garish splotches and it's like two sizes to big for him, but he thinks it's great. He wears it every single night to bed, to remind himself that he is loved and has friends.

 **Well that's it. I hope you like them and I hope next time I can give you a proper chapter.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hello! I finally got over my writer's block and managed to produce something I'm reasonably happy with. It's not as long as it could be but oh well. Please review and tell me what you think. Seriously, reviews are great. I feel so happy when I get them, so feel free to send anything. Questions, ideas, compliments and criticism (as long as it's constructive) are really helpful. I love hearing what you think. Anyway, I hope you enjoy your long-awaited chapter! :)**

JASON

Jason was so mad that he accidentally electrocuted Percy. Percy yelped but didn't complain- he was just as angry. Jason got the feeling that if there were any taps in the room, they would have exploded.

Jason was furious at Mrs Yang. He hated people who manipulated others, who made them feel powerless. He'd hated Octavian for that reason. Mrs Yang was worse. She had terrified, hurt and scarred Leo. She had made him think he was a waste of space. She had made him feel like he couldn't escape. She was the reason he, an innocent young boy, had felt the need to grab a knife as he ran away. Jason wanted to kill her. He couldn't believe what Leo had had to go through. He was so happy all the time, as if he'd never been scared or sad in his life. That used to annoy Jason- Leo could be so insensitive to others' problems, making jokes when they were upset, when he had no idea what pain and sadness was. Jason couldn't believe how wrong he was. Leo not only understood pain, he had experienced it from a young age. Jason wished he could have known what Leo had been through back when they were on the quest. It would have explained a lot. He sighed and grabbed Piper's hand, before turning back to the memory.

 **Leo spent three months on the run, surviving off the food in his duffel bag and any scraps he could find. He was better off than the first time he ran away- he was older, more experienced, more prepared. But that still didn't prepare him for the cold, harsh lifestyle on the streets. He had to ration his food and often went hungry. He was being tracked by police even more now that he had run away twice, and was forced to hide away, rarely showing his face to adults for fear of being recognised. His heart beating so fast in his chest in terror that he could hear it in his ears became so normal that he couldn't imagine living without the constant sound of roaring blood.**

 **He lived in alleyways, hiding like a rat in the dark, scuttling away if anyone came close. He kept his knife close to him always. He made a makeshift scabbard out of the leather of an empty discarded handbag which held the knife at his side constantly. He learnt to never have it far away the hard way, when two large homeless men came down one of the alleyways he had been hiding in and had mugged him for his food and the tiny amount of money he'd managed to find. Bruised and bleeding, sad and broken, he had sat at the end of the alley afterwards, staring at the knife he hadn't managed to pull out of where he had left it in his duffle bag as they attacked him. And he laughed at the irony of his life. His mind was ruined. He felt awful, yet a smile remained on his face. It wouldn't go away. The more he tried, the worse he felt. He started to cry but the smile remained. He sat there, trying to remember how to show grief. Did you frown first, then cry? Or cry then frown? Did you even frown at all? His emotions had been carefully dissected into their components to the point where he didn't even know how to show them. Every feeling was about how you displayed it. Each part of his face had a role to play. Eyes crinkle, head tilts up, bottom lip hides bottom teeth, but not too much, smile lines fold, dimples show. Oh, he was an expert at smiles. He knew every part of them, all the ways to show different kinds of joy. But sadness? Anger? Worry? Helplessness? Terror? Absolute and complete and utter loneliness? He had no idea how those worked. Nothing was natural anymore. He was drowning in layers of absolute _fake_. He couldn't feel emotions, couldn't show them. **

Jason was horrified to realise that in many years' time, when he was taken to Camp Half-Blood, everyone would think that his lack of understanding for the emotions and feelings of others came from being a son of Hephaestus, and from being too used to machines. He knew that's what he had thought. Leo always seemed uncomfortable talking to others. He would be confused by their emotions. He would stare blankly for ages while they cried, before finally realising they were upset. Everyone assumed that he had been that way all his life, but Jason saw now that they were wrong.

 **Leo Valdez used to be one of the most empathetic people you could meet. He used to just be able to look at a person and understand what they were feeling and why they were feeling it. He saw through words to the emotions beneath. All that was gone now. He only understood happiness, only knew how to show happiness. Everything else was a mystery.** **And so, while he sat in an alleyway alone at night, sobbing his heart out, he smiled. And then he laughed. It started off quietly, but the more negative he felt, the more hopeless, the more lost, the louder it got. His laughter echoed around the alleyway. His eyes shone in the dark like a cat's. He rocked back and forth, covering his ears to block out the laughter. He couldn't breathe. His laughter transformed into a scream. In his mind, he begged for help. Over and over and over.**

 ** _Help me help me help me._**

 **No one helped him.**

 **No one came down that alleyway that night.**

 **His mother didn't come running to help him and hold him and hug him like she used to when he had nightmares.**

 ** _She's gone she's gone she's gone help me help me help me._**

 **Even the gods we're afraid of Leo Valdez that night. Hephaestus couldn't watch. He turned away and closed his eyes.**

 **And when the laughter finally stopped, and the rising golden sun lit up the exhausted, red-rimmed eyes of a small and broken child called Leo Valdez, he curled himself up into a ball among the rubbish and the rats and wiped away the last remnants of his tears, feeling impossibly, horribly numb.**

 **…**

 **He could never stay in one place too long, always changing alleyways- eventually someone would see him and report him, and the next thing he knew, he was being chased by police. He became a master of scaling fences and finding hand and footholds in between bricks on the sides of buildings. Once, when he was being chased by two police officers, he reached a dead end. A brick wall stood three metres tall in front of him, cornering him at the end of an alleyway. The police had closed in, telling him to calm down, and to stay still. His body had filled with absolute terror. The familiar sound of blood entered his ears. A fire lit itself inside of him. He wouldn't be taken back to the hospital. He wouldn't be take back to another foster home. And so he had turned and taken a running leap at the wall. Determination had filled his bones and he had thought of nothing but the need to run. To flee. To _escape_. His small fingers curled around the gaps in the bricks, scraped by rough mortar, shaking and aching as he pulled himself up. His feet followed, scrabbling up the wall. He slipped and slammed into the bricks, but he kept going.**

 **He scaled the wall in two seconds flat.**

 **He was up and over before the officers could react. He had scraped the ends of his fingers down to almost the bone, and when he leaped down the other side in desperation, he landed on the concrete below with a horrible _thwack_ that had left him bruised and cut. But he was free. No one was taking him back to that place. They'd have to kill him first. His heart continued to roar in his ears, but he didn't care. Blood meant he was still alive, and that was a good sign.**

 **He hurt himself a lot running away. Scraped knees, bruised shins, and bloody fingers were a regular occurrence. They didn't hurt though. He just smiled the pain away.**

 **He got cold at night. It was one disadvantage of having almost no body fat. He had packed jackets and pants, but they did little to keep the chill out of his bones as he hid in the darkness all alone. Often he had to bury himself under piles of rubbish to conserve heat. He could have lit a fire, if he didn't dare to. He promised he would never play with fire after his mother's death.**

 **He had run out of water, and had snuck to a nearby park to refill the bottles in his bag. He had tried to keep a low profile- walking like he was a normal child, out for a day at the park with his parents. He tried to ignore the other young children his age, running around, laughing and playing. They had brothers and sisters. He would give anything for a sibling right now. They had fathers who played tag with them and kicked soccer balls with them. Leo had never had a dad. He wished he had one. But worst of all, they had mothers. Kind, smiling mothers who played with them and gave them watermelon slices and kissed their cheeks while they squirmed. Leo held in a sob. They had no idea what they had, no idea how lucky they were. He saw his mother everywhere as he walked through the park. Every dark haired woman was her. He would feel joy, relief, happiness. But then they would turn around and their face would be wrong. He would realise that they weren't his mother. And every time he realised that, he felt a knife stab itself into his heart. He felt so alone in that moment that he just wanted to fall down and cry. But he couldn't. He had a job to do. He was here for water, not for memories. People were everywhere. Most of them would have seen the missing posters. He needed to be quick. He walked swiftly and calmly towards the drink fountain, looking down to hide his face, hoping not to be recognised. It didn't work. His clothes were dirty, no matter how many times he changed them, and he had the aura of someone up to no good. He had made it as far as the fountain, and had starting filling up his bottles, when he noticed a group of mothers sitting on a picnic blanket together, staring at him and whispering.**

 **"-so dirty…"**

 **"-where are his parents?…"**

 **"-look at his clothes…"**

 **"-that missing boy…"**

 **"-police?.."**

 **By the time he had filled up his third bottle, desperately willing the fountain to hurry up, to fill faster, they had seemed to reach a decision. One was on the phone, no doubt to the police, and two were making their way towards him.**

 **"Hey, little boy! Can we talk to you?" Leo didn't hesitate. He dropped the bottle and ran.**

 **"Stop! Come back!" They tried to grab him, but they were no match for a little boy who had spent a month on the streets, who was quick on his feet, and who was scared beyond belief. He raced down the hill to the road, almost crashing into a cyclist on the way down. He rounded a corner, running along the foot path. He needed somewhere to hide. He needed an alleyway, a deserted warehouse, a big crowd. He had none of those. Panic built up in his chest. And so his body responded with its near-instinctual response to panic, to fear, to pain.**

 **He smiled.**

 **And so Leo ran, an uncontrollable grin plastered onto his face, blindly weaving between the pedestrians who stared at him as he flew by. The world was a whirlwind of blurred colour and sound and terror. He could hear his heart in his ears. _I'm alive_ he thought. _Blood means I'm alive. I'm not dead. Not dead yet._ He had to run. He had to get away. He had to find somewhere to hide. He had to-**

 **He slammed into a police car.**

 **Leo lay on the ground, dazed, wondering why he was suddenly staring at the sky. But then a policeman lifted him to his feet. The officer was trying to walk him to the car, trying to get him into the back seat. Through the fogginess of his mind, Leo could form only one thought.**

 ** _Run._**

 **Leo's world came back into sharp focus.**

 **"No!" He kicked his legs up and braced them either side of the doorway of the car. He wouldn't get in. This man couldn't make him. He wouldn't go back. The police officer struggled, trying to push him into the car, trying to get Leo's legs to bend, to buckle.**

 **"Cut it out, kid! Get your feet off the car! Get in!"**

 **Leo elbowed him in the gut.**

 **The officer groaned, doubling over. Leo might have been small, but he was also desperate. Adrenaline gave him strength. Unfortunately, it also gave him a face full of concrete as the officer dropped him in pain. Blood trickled out of his mouth and nose, staining his small teeth. He grinned involuntarily. He tried to run, but the officer was faster. He grabbed him by the wrist and pinned him against the side of the car while another police car pulled up behind them. Leo started to fight, still smiling. The officer sighed.**

 **"You're just trouble, aren't you? Just relax kid. We just want to help you."**

 **"Let me go! I have a knife! I'll kill you!" Leo screamed back, still grinning. His eyes registered shock as soon as the words left his mouth. He seemed horrified at what he'd just said. He wasn't the kind of person who killed people. He was just a child. The officer's expression hardened.**

 **"You have a knife? Funny that. I have a gun and a licence to kill. I wouldn't try it kid." Another two officers joined them. One of them, a woman, snorted.**

 **"This is why you asked for backup, Jones? He's a kid. He's what, seven?"**

 **"Nine." Leo growled.**

 **"Oh _wow_." The woman turned her attention to Leo. "You're right. That's _very_ mature. I apologise." She rolled her eyes.**

 **"Don't tease him, Smith." Jones, the officer holding him against the car, chastised. "He says he has a knife. He says he's going to kill me. I don't doubt he would if I let him go."**

 **"Where's the knife, kid?" The third officer asked. Leo ignored him. "Do you have a knife or not?" Leo stayed silent.**

 **"See? He was lying. There's no knife. Let's just get him in the car and off to social services. We have more important things to deal with today." Smith snapped.**

 **Leo winced. Of course he wasn't important. He was never important.**

 ** _Worthless_ _worthless_ _worthless_ _worthless._ **

**The words echoed in his mind.**

 ** _Waste of space. Unloved. Better off dead._**

 **He couldn't silence his thoughts. He couldn't breathe. He started to cry, silent tears streaming down his face, though all he felt was a cold numbness. He smiled more to compensate, hoping they wouldn't notice, but they did.**

 **Smith's expression softened.**

 **"Come on. Let's get you into the car. This is pointless." Leo wanted to fight, but the voices in his head crippled him. He felt his knees buckle, forced down by the weight of the words. He felt himself being guided into the back seat of the police car, but he couldn't see what was happening. His vision was taken over by a cruel, shouting woman. He watched her hit him, heard her scream insults. Felt the pain of her punches. He started to beg. She didn't stop.**

 ** _Worthless worthless worthless._**

 **Her face faded away to blackness, but her voice and her words remained.**

 ** _Worthless worthless worthless worthless worthless worthless…._**

 **And then her words, too, faded into silence, and Leo felt nothing at all.**

 **…**

 **After a few hours, the police left. Leo had sat alone in a separate room, holding a tissue to his nosebleed, while they spoke to Tiffany and a few other social workers. Leo spent the time subconsciously tapping on the side of the plastic chair. He'd spent so much of his life communicating with his mother that way- through tapping, through morse code- that now she was gone, there was a gap in his reality. It was like when an astronaut goes to space- their whole life, they have been surrounded by sound, so when they get up past the atmosphere, their brain can't process the complete and utter silence of space. So their brain tries to cope- it fills in the gaps and the astronaut starts hearing things that aren't there. That's what his tapping was- a coping mechanism. There was a gap, a missing piece, a silence in his life that couldn't be filled. So his brain tried to fill it for him, by giving him sound- making him tap to his mother, even though she wasn't there, would never be there. The social workers and doctors and all of the psychologists would tell him that it was because he was hyperactive. They thought it was because he had too much nervous energy. They said he had ADHD. But he knew that wasn't right. He had never had problems concentrating before his mother's death. He may have been excitable, but _hyperactive?_ No. He wasn't hyperactive. He had almost no energy in him to move and to breathe, so how could they say he had "too much"? Leo Valdez didn't have ADHD. He had post traumatic stress disorder. His lack of concentration came as a response to trauma triggers. His constant tapping was a subconscious behaviour that his body turned to to try and soothe stress. His eyes swept left and right-he wasn't hyperactive, he was hyper-alert. His random outbursts of lightning-quick speech that could hardly be understood, his impulsiveness, his constant bouncing up and down, his dramatic mood swings that he hid with a smile, his flashbacks, the nightmares that plagued his mind every night- they were all symptoms, all caused by the horrors in his life. They started when he was only nine years old, and got worse and worse as he got older. But post traumatic stress disorder is often misdiagnosed. And so it would be many years before someone saw his behaviours for what they were. It would be many years before he was helped. And by then, it would be too late.**

 **…**

 **The door opened and Tiffany walked in. Leo had fallen asleep in the chair. He used to struggle to sleep, but now he could sleep just about anywhere. And once he was asleep, it was almost impossible to wake him up. He couldn't even wake himself up during a nightmare, which he found terrifying. He blinked up at Tiffany who sat in another chair across the table from him. She stared at him, scanning his face. Leo squirmed. He hated being analysed. Mrs Yang had done enough of that when he lived with her- scanning his smile, making sure it was real, hurting him if it wasn't.**

 **"Leo?" Tiffany asked. He blinked the haze from his eyes, trying to get rid of the image of Mrs Yang. He couldn't breathe. He looked at Tiffany. Her face transformed into the cruel, cold one of Mrs Yang. Leo shot to his feet. He couldn't breathe he couldn't breathe.**

 **"Leo! Please sit down. There's no need to panic." Leo's head hurt. He thought he was going to throw up. Mrs Yang's image followed him. He shook his head, and she disappeared. Tiffany's face changed back to normal. He could breathe. He sucked oxygen into his lungs, sitting down hesitantly. He felt a smile spread onto his face. He could hear his heart in his ears. Everything was normal.**

 **"Are you alright? What's wrong?" Tiffany looked concerned.**

 **"I…" Leo swallowed bile. "I'm fine." Tiffany sat in silence again, watching him carefully. Her mouth set into a hard line and she spoke again, trying not to look mad.**

 **"Leo." She said. "You ran away from your foster home again. Are you aware of that?"**

 **"Yes."**

 **"Do you remember what I told you last time we met? I told you not to run away. I said that if you didn't like it at a foster home, that you could call me, and I would find you somewhere else to live. Do you remember that, Leo?" He tone was kind, but she didn't look happy.**

 **"Yes."**

 **"And you did call me. But you told me that you loved it at your foster home with Mrs Yang." Leo flinched at her name. He couldn't breathe. He felt sick. "So why did you run away?"**

 **Leo wanted to tell her. He wanted to collapse against her and tell her about Mrs Yang and how she hurt him and scared him. He wanted to tell Tiffany everything. He wanted-**

 **He felt fingers curling around his neck, nails digging into his throat. He felt hot breath behind him, heard her whispering in his ear. He spun around. No one was there. When he looked back at Tiffany, she was there. She stood behind Tiffany's seat, smiling at him.**

 ** _"You don't want me to hurt you, do you Leo?"_** **Leo's breathing hitched.** ** _"Smile, Leo. Tell her why you ran away. You don't have a reason, do you? You don't know why you ran away. Tell her."_** **Leo blinked hard. Mrs Yang was gone.**

 **"Well, Leo?" Tiffany asked. "Why did you run away?"**

Jason wanted to tell him that Mrs Yang wasn't really there. He wanted to tell him that he was just having flashbacks. He wanted to tell him to explain everything to Tiffany, to trust her. But he couldn't.

 **Leo shrugged. "I- I don't know."**

 **"You don't know? That answer isn't good enough, Leo. I don't understand. You loved it at your foster home, yet you ran away. Why?"**

 **"I don't know."**

 **"Tell me Leo." Leo started to panic. _Smile, Leo_ her voice cooed in his head. A smile plastered itself on his face.**

 **"I don't know."**

 **"Are you smirking at me, Leo? Do you think this is a joke?"**

 **"No." Leo wanted to cry. He laughed instead.**

 **"Don't you laugh at me! I'm trying to help you. I need you to co-operate. This isn't funny."**

 **But Leo couldn't stop laughing. He was trapped in a vicious cycle- the more he laughed, the worse he felt. The worse he felt, the more he laughed. He was drowning. Tiffany was furious.**

 **"Well, if you don't have a reason, I'll just take you straight back to Mrs Yang!" She snapped.**

 **"No!" Leo cried, smile still on his face. "Please!"**

 **Tiffany sighed, holding her head in her hands, anger draining away. They sat in silence for what felt like an eternity. Eventually, Tiffany spoke.**

 **"I'm sorry for shouting, Leo. That was wrong of me."**

 **"It's ok." Leo hesitated. "Please don't take me back to Mrs Yang." He said quietly. Tiffany sighed.**

 **"Do you promise not to run away ever again if I find you somewhere else?"**

 **"I promise."**

 **Tiffany smiled. "Thank you, Leo. I don't know what was wrong with Mrs Yang's house, but I promise you that I'll find you somewhere else that you'll like. I'll find you a home."**

 **Little did either of them know that neither of them would keep their promise.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hi! I'm so sorry it's (very) late! I've had heaps of tests and assessments these past few weeks, but reports are now in so I shouldn't have too much schoolwork from now on. I also took ages because I wasn't happy with it and there are still parts I'm not sure about, but oh well. Here it is. I hope you like it!**

CALYPSO

Calypso wanted the memories to be over. She wanted Leo to be unfrozen so that she could hug him and tell him she loved him. She already knew about everything they had just seen. She saw these memories every night- recreated through Leo's half-possessed, nightmare-controlled body. She saw them in the way he cried and yelled and rocked himself, still horribly asleep, unable to wake up. She saw the affect they had on him when he was awake. Because of that horrible _σκύλα_ , Mrs Yang, Leo struggled to understand the emotions of other people, and learned to hide his own. He also hated anyone touching his neck. He was one of those people who would duck away and lean back from anyone who put their hand near his neck, completely out of instinct. He couldn't help it, and he hated it. His friends, however, thought his reaction was hilarious. They'd stopped harassing him only when Percy grabbed his neck from behind, and Leo almost broke his arm. Even afterwards, they all thought it was because he was ticklish, which he was, but Calypso knew that wasn't the real reason.

…And now so did they.

Leo wouldn't have wanted them to know that. Calypso still didn't know what to feel about Leo's friends watching his memories. If he hadn't been frozen, he would be trying to stop them, he would be yelling at Hera… but he would also be joking around so his friends didn't think he was upset. No. That wasn't okay. They needed to know what he had been through- what he was still going through. But she still didn't understand why she had to watch the memories with them. She knew everything there was to know about Leo's past. Apart from actually seeing what Leo had described to her in those cold, quiet hours before dawn, nothing they saw would be new to her. She knew what was going to happen next- which foster home he was going to be sent to. It wasn't the worst home, but certainly not the best. Was there ever really a best? Leo would say there wasn't. Even the nicest had bad memories attached to them. Bad memories- exactly what they were watching now. Of course she knew the memories weren't going to be happy, since they were not only bad memories, but Leo's worst. Yet she felt a strange sense of sadness watching Leo as a little boy- watching his life go by, each day changing who he was as a person, each day slowly transforming him into the Leo she knew. She knew what he would become, the things he would do, how important he was going to be, but he couldn't see it. Little Leo was still lost in the twisted maze of his childhood- still deep in the fear and sadness and hopelessness.

Calypso watched Leo's friends carefully. She wasn't the best judge of character- she hadn't been around people for a long time, and so was a bit rusty at reading people. Between herself and Leo, it was almost impossible for them to tell what a person was feeling. The only faces she'd seen over the last few millennia were those of heroes (always the same- rugged, handsome and mostly expressionless- except for Leo, that is) and gods (who really were never the best at imitating human emotions). There was also the fact that the only people she had seen were men. She had no idea how other girls worked. She glanced at Piper. Case in point. She couldn't really tell what Piper was feeling. If she had to guess, she would say anger- though whether it was at Mrs Yang or herself, Calypso wasn't sure. Jason and Percy next to her, however, showed pure guilt. Even she could see that. They both felt awful for not realising what Leo had been through. Hazel and Frank at the end of the couch had twin masks of shock and horror. They looked absolutely appalled at what they had seen, and Calypso couldn't blame them. Annabeth, however, the one member of the seven that Calypso still wasn't sure about, sat calm and calculating. She stared intently at the blank iris-message memory as if trying to decipher the information she had been given. Then she locked eyes with Calypso and the look on her face intensified. Calypso felt as if Annabeth was looking straight into her soul, pulling all her secrets out into the light and examining them. Calypso quickly looked away. She shifted uncomfortably and focused on the memory once again.

 **Leo was walked up the faded purple driveway to his new foster home by Tiffany, who kept her hand planted firmly in the centre of his back, as if she was worried he would try to run despite his promise. Leo, for his part, wasn't anywhere close to running. He had made a promise to Tiffany, and he wasn't going to break it. His mother had once told him that two of the worst things you could ever do were to lie or to break a promise. He hadn't forgotten her words, and was determined to do his best to keep his promise. No matter what happened in this foster home, or what the foster parent was like, he wouldn't run.**

 **As it turned out, the foster parent wasn't one parent, as he was used to, but a young couple. The woman introduced herself as Ada and her husband as Jacob. They both had giant smiles on their faces and were nice to him- taking his bag inside, asking him how the journey was and even giving him a gift-wrapped present they had bought him- but Leo knew that meant nothing. Tiffany was still there, chatting with Jacob while Ada showed Leo the clothes she had bought him. As soon as his social worker left, and there was no longer a childcare official to watch over things, Leo was willing to bet that they would become horrible child-abusing monsters. His resolve almost broke, and he considered bolting before it was too late, but he held tight.**

 ** _No, Leo._ He told himself. _You are keeping your promise. You will stay here, no matter what. You aren't allowed to run. They're being nice to you, at least for now. Be grateful. Smile._**

 **So he did. He took the hot chocolate his new foster mother was handing him and beamed at her.**

 **"Thank you, Mrs Evans."**

 **"No problem, bud. But seriously, call me Ada. I'm your mom, not your teacher." She grinned at him, frizzy halo of brown hair bouncing as she laughed. Leo laughed with her, trying to ignore the fact that she had called herself his mum. She would never be his mother.**

 **Once all the forms were signed and all the necessary briefings were out the way, Tiffany packed away her things and was shown to the door. She gave Leo one last meaningful look before Jacob closed the door.**

 **"Alrighty Leo! You want to come meet your new brother?"**

 ** _Oh no._ Leo thought. _Here it comes._ **

**They were either going to be the traumatised, abused child that Leo would soon join in equal terror, or a horrible bully who would make Leo's life miserable. He wasn't sure which was worse.**

 **"Sure!" He grinned. His momentary panic had forced the smile onto his face out of instinct. He felt false energy fill his body as he practically skipped after Ada and Jacob.**

 **As it turned out, the little boy who was his foster brother was neither the bully or the bullied, but a quiet little six year old with mouse-coloured hair and pale blue eyes. He hopped off the couch, shyly glancing at his parents for encouragement. He didn't seem sure about Leo. He looked up at him like he was a terrifying giant.**

 **"Hi." Leo said awkwardly. The boy gave him a small smile and waved.**

 **"This is Max." Ada said. "Go on, sweetie. Why don't you ask Leo here some questions?" Max didn't say anything, but gaped at Leo. Ada hurriedly filled in the awkward silence.**

 **"So, Leo. What cartoons do you like watching? Max here loves Thomas the Tank Engine. It's his favourite, isn't it Max?" She gave Leo a pained smile when Max answered with a simple nod.**

 **"Well, um…" Leo said. "We could never afford a TV when I lived with my máma, so I don't really have any favourites. But I like listening to the radio. Máma and I-" He stopped. Why would they care about his favourites or his mother? They were just trying to be polite. They weren't actually listening. And why was he telling them all this anyway? He didn't want to tell them about his máma. He wanted to fall down and cry whenever he thought about her. Talking about her felt like stabbing himself in the heart with a rusty knife. He started to fidget- rocking onto the balls of his feet, tapping his fingers along the sides of his legs, frantically looking around the room.**

 **Distract. Think about something safer. Breathe. Jacob smiled.**

 **"How about we show you your room, Leo? It's upstairs." They led him to a small room with pale blue walls and a single-sized bed.**

 **"I know it's not the most glamorous room." Ada said hurriedly. "But we hope you like it." Leo smiled at her, but his heart hammered in his chest. It would be much harder to escape from the second floor. Not that he was going to escape, of course. _Stop it Leo_ , he scolded himself. _Don't even think about running_.**

 **But part of him itched to, despite his promise. It just felt so natural now to run. To keep moving and leave everything behind. He felt so trapped with a roof over his head.**

 **…**

 **Once he was settled, Ada and Jacob started making dinner. Leo was starving, but when they set the pasta on the table, he stood, rigid and emotionless, waiting for them all to eat.**

 **"Leo?" Ada asked. "What's wrong? Aren't you hungry?" Leo blinked, confused.**

 **"W-what?"**

 **"Aren't you going to sit down? You must be hungry." Leo still didn't understand. His mind couldn't wrap around the fact that he was wanted in the same room as someone else, let alone eating beside them.**

 **"You… you want me to eat with you?"**

He sounded so lost and confused that it broke Calypso's heart. It was as if he couldn't fathom being treated like a human being. He was used to being treated like the dirt beneath everyone else's feet.

 **"Of course!" Jacob laughed. "What did you think? That we were going to make you stand there and watch us eat? Come join us!" He pointed across the table to the empty seat beside Max. Leo gave a small smile in return and sat down hesitantly on the edge of his chair. He wasn't comfortable. He felt dizzy. His head hurt. This was wrong. He didn't deserve to sit here. He couldn't eat with them. Why would they want him? Jacob lifted his hand and Leo flinched, shying away, convinced he was about to hit him for sitting down, but Jacob only reached out to serve himself some spaghetti from the steaming pot in the middle of the table. Ada served herself some before giving Max a little to try. She looked at Leo, serving tongs in hand.**

 **"You want some, Leo?" Leo hesitated. This was so wrong. He wasn't good enough. He was worthless. They should punish him. He knew they would if he said yes. They were going to beat him. They were going to hurt him. He couldn't accept the food. He started to panic, heart racing. He didn't show it. Instead, a smile spread across his face, covering his fear. Ada took his grin as a yes. She picked up his bowl and served him several scoops of pasta. Leo blanched.**

 **"N-no, wait I-" She passed him the bowl. He almost dropped it. His fingers shook. Leo placed it carefully in front of him, feeling sick. He couldn't breathe. He felt as though Mrs Yang was squeezing his throat. It was as though there were weights on his chest, constricting his breathing. His foster family started eating straight away, but Leo couldn't. He could barely hold his fork. He'd almost forgotten how. Timidly, he pushed the fork into his food. His head snapped up, scanning their faces. He was sure Ada was going to stand up and beat him for trying to eat. Instead, she smiled at him.**

 **"Go on, Leo. Try some. It's not poisoned, I swear." She laughed, oblivious to Leo's internal struggle. He dragged his eyes down to his food, lifting some food from the bowl on his fork. Even that took immense effort. The pasta seemed to add infinite weight to his hand. He couldn't make it reach his mouth. Leo gulped, putting his fork down. He felt so sick. He shouldn't eat. He deserved to go hungry. So he sat in silence, back straight, smile on his face, while they ate. After a few minutes, Jacob looked up.**

 **"What's wrong Leo? Don't you like it?"**

 **"No, it… its fine. I just…" He trailed off. "I'll just wait until you're finished."**

 **"You don't have to do that! Feel free to eat, Leo. You don't have to wait for us to finish." Ada seemed shocked. Leo swallowed hard, squeezing his eyes shut. He picked up his fork. He couldn't breathe, he needed air. He felt sick. Why did that keep happening to him?**

 ** _Just eat! He told himself. They want you to! It's not that hard. You're so stupid! Just pick up the fork and EAT._**

 **He shoved the pasta in his mouth. Immediately, Mrs Yang yelled at him.**

 ** _You horrible boy! You dare eat the same food as these people? You are disgusting! You are worthless! You don't deserve to sit at their table! You don't deserve to breathe the air they breathe! Worthless! Worthless!_**

 **Troy scowled at him, kicking him, mocking him.**

 ** _Stupid idiot! You should just die! You're worthless! No one loves you! No one will ever love you! Worthless!_**

 **Aunt Rosa shoved her horrible, sneering face into his and slapped him.**

 ** _Diablo! Murderer! Disgrace! You deserve to rot! Get out of my sight! Worthless!_**

 **The word echoed around his head, stopping his breath, stealing the light from his eyes, stabbing him with each murderous syllable.**

 ** _Worthless. Worthless. Worthless._**

 **The world was a fuzzy blur. He felt sick. So, so sick…**

 **And it was a combination of the crippling words in his head and the fact that his body wasn't used to food, since he'd only had scraps for the past year, that made him react the way he did.**

 **Leo leaned over the side of his chair and threw up, the meagre contents of his stomach leaving him. He vaguely registered Ada and Jacob leaping to their feet as he slid off the chair, laughing and crying at the same time.**

 **…**

"Gods." Piper breathed, horrified. "I-I had no idea that those kinds of thoughts were in his head. They're horrible. How does he stay standing?"

"I know what you mean." Percy agreed. "I thought Annabeth and I had it bad after Tar- after that place. His thoughts, his memories, even so far. They're just as bad if not worse than ours from that place. And he's just a child in these memories. The poor guy."

 _You have no idea what's coming,_ Calypso thought. _They get worse. Far, far worse._

 **They whispered about him when they thought he was asleep.**

 **"Did he not like it? What was wrong with it? None of us had that kind of reaction to the food. Do you think I undercooked the meat?" Ada.**

 **"No no, nothing like that." Jacob. "Tiffany said that he's been living on the streets for almost three months. He was also in another foster home for half a year before that. They have no idea what he's been eating in that time, but probably not much- he's malnourished. Tiffany warned me this might happen. She said his body might not be able to cope with proper food yet."**

 **"But what about his reaction? He… he was just laughing and laughing. A normal child doesn't laugh when they feel sick. He shouldn't be smiling when he's in discomfort or pain like that. He just seems… strange. Have you noticed that? He's weird."**

Calypso wanted to slap her. He's not weird! He's mentally and emotionally scarred! He was abused! He's now probably developed an eating disorder because of his last foster home! And you're calling him weird?

 **"Ada, he's troubled. Losing his mother has probably messed him up in the head. We knew there was a high chance of fostering a troubled kid- you said you were up for it."**

 **"I know but…"**

 **Leo sat up and their conversation stopped.**

 **"Hello, Leo. How are you feeling?" Jacob asked gently. Leo looked around. He was in his bedroom. It was still nighttime. He looked back at Jacob and Ada, staying silent.**

 **"Do you remember what happened?" Leo didn't answer. He felt hollow.**

 **"You were sick. And then you blacked out, Leo. Does that happen often?" Leo stared at him. He thought about how he had blacked out from pure lack of energy when he was caught the first time he ran away. He thought about how the deafening roar of words in his head had made him black out the second time he was caught. He remembered the countless times that the sheer exhaustion and stress of living with Mrs Yang had caused him to collapse. She had always beaten him for that.**

 **"Leo?" Leo snapped back to reality. He could hear Mrs Yang's voice in his head.**

 ** _Tell him you don't know. Why would he care anyway?_**

 **"I don't know." Leo told him.**

 **"You don't know?" Ada asked, looking at him sceptically. Leo just grinned.**

 **"Did you paint this room? I like it. It's blue. Blue's a cool colour. Get it? Cool? Like water?" Distract. Change the subject. Think about something else.**

 **"…Yes, I guess it is a cool colour. We didn't choose it though- the people who lived here before us painted it that colour. But Leo-"**

 ** _Nononono. Don't keep asking. Leave me be. I don't know I don't know I don't know. Help me help me._**

 **Leo burst out laughing, heart racing. He leapt to his feet, kicking off his blankets. Ada faltered. She frowned.**

 **"Why are you laughing? Is something funny?" Leo shook his head, stifling a giggle. He grinned.**

 **"I'm going downstairs. I'm so happy. I love it here." He ran down the stairs, leaving a perplexed Jacob and Ada.**

 **"You see what I mean?" She asked. "He's weird."**

 **…**

 **Over the next week, Ada and Jacob grew more and more concerned about Leo's behaviour. When Ada went to hang up the washing, Leo marched over to her, a smile on his face, and took the basket from her hands. It would have been a nice gesture, but Leo did it in a mindless, reflexive way, as if it was something that was required of him, something he had to do. Ada said repeatedly that Leo didn't have to hang up the washing, that she could do it, that it was fine. But it was as if Leo couldn't hear her. He walked to the washing line, staring straight ahead, a strange, slightly crazed smile on his face. He started hanging the washing up with blinding speed. He seemed more like a machine than a human being- doing the same repetitive task over and over, never stopping, ignoring Ada's protests. Every time he slowed, the voices in his head screamed insults, and his pace would quicken. Ada picked up a shirt and tried to help him but he moved to block her. He pulled the shirt from her hands, staring at her emptily, grinning. Ada had had enough.**

 **"Leo!" She snapped when he continued to ignore her protests. She raised her hand to grab his arm and he shrunk back, eyes flashing terror, thinking she was about to strike him. He stared at her for a few seconds, before turning back to his task as if she didn't exist. Eventually Ada gave up, and went back into the house, confused and disturbed by Leo's sudden behaviour.**

 **It wasn't just taking over chores or refusing to eat meals with the rest of them. Whenever asked a personal question, ("What happened in your last foster home?" "Why won't you eat with us? What was your mother like?) he would burst out laughing, or simply grin and stay silent. Eventually they learned not to ask about his past.**

 **Laughing and smiling became a problem for Leo. Even though he was far from Mrs Yang's house, she followed him everywhere, invisible and imaginary to anyone else, but very real to Leo, who could see her and hear her and feel her hit him. Sometimes, when he was all alone in his little room at night, he would fall to his knees from the force of her blows. Her words made him feel as though he was being pulled apart. She opened him up and took away everything that made him _him_. She stole his energy, his joy, his ability to live without invisible shackles around his wrists. She made him hollow and numb.**

 **But worst of all, Mrs Yang manipulated his thoughts and actions, and created a rift between him and his foster parents, stealing any chance of a healthy relationship or a normal life. Ada and Jacob began to act wary around him. Who wouldn't, at a boy who laughed at all the wrong things, and grinned when he was sad?**

 **Once, when Max had been running around the garden, he had tripped and grazed his knees on the pavement. Leo watched as he started to cry. He watched as the deep grooves of torn skin welled up with blood. Bright, red blood. Like Harry's lip when it was split from a blow to the face. Like Eloise's hands from blisters caused by endless work. Like Jasmine's cheek from the finger nails that had raked down her face. Like his own body, so often covered in wounds while in that house. Constantly blanketed in red.**

 **Leo snapped.**

 **He fell to the ground as Ada ran outside to Max's side, scooping him up. Leo started to laugh. He rocked back and forth, staring in horror at the blood dribbling down Max's knees, laughing until he couldn't breathe.**

 **"Leo! Don't laugh! It's not funny!" Leo continued to rock, laughing, a crazy glint in his eyes. "That's not nice! Max has hurt himself! You shouldn't laugh at him!" Leo could barely hear her. He tried to stop, he really did, but it just didn't work. He sat outside for hours, even after Ada had taken Max inside, rocking himself and laughing quietly, trying to ignore the look of fear and disgust on Ada's face.**

 **When Jacob returned from work that evening, Leo heard them quietly talking about him in another room. He couldn't make out much of what they were saying, but he heard the words "messed up" "needs help" "psychopath" rise above the others. Leo felt numb.**

 **He walked up the stairs to his room, exhausted, body aching. He leaned against his bed, staring at the wall, trying to feel something. _Anything_. Anything at all. But there was nothing to draw from but an empty, cold void inside him, bled dry by the words in his head. He turned to look at his duffel bag in the corner. He pulled it to him and emptied it. Clothes, dirty and torn. A headless dragon. A crumpled, half-burnt photograph of better times.**

 **…And a sharp, silver knife.**

[WARNING: The following scene contains self-harm, which is then mentioned afterwards in other parts of the fanfiction. If you don't want to read, skip until you see the line to pass the self-harm scene. There will also be further mentions of self-harm later on.]

 **It called to him. He could feel himself being drawn to it. His fingers curled around the hilt. It felt so comforting, so right in his hand. Pain made him smile. Smiling meant he was happy. Or, at least, he could trick people into thinking he was happy. Maybe he could trick himself. Maybe he would feel something. Maybe he would be happy. His breathing quickened. He just wanted this numbness, this hollowness to end. He pressed the point of the blade against the skin of his inner forearm.**

 **Breathe in. Out.**

 **He hesitated. Survival instinct, self preservation tried to stop him.**

 **Breathe in. Out.**

 **He swallowed.**

 **Breathe in. Out.**

 **He dragged the knife across his arm.**

 **It left a shallow, thin cut, red with blood that couldn't break the surface. It was too thin, too shallow to bleed. It was tiny, but Leo's hands shook at the enormity of what he had done. It stung, but it felt good. He felt a smile spread across his face, but he wasn't happy. He still felt numb.**

 ** _That doesn't count. Cut deeper._**

 **He closed his eyes and dug the point a little deeper against his skin and dragged down, leaving a cut that slowly began to fill with blood. It oozed over, bright and thick. He cut himself again. And again. He started to rock himself, laughing, tears of relief streaming down his face. He wasn't happy, but he wasn't numb. And it felt so good not to be numb.**

* * *

SKIP TO HERE

 **Leo tiptoed to the bathroom and cleaned the cuts, placing bandaids over them. He sat on the cool tiles and stared at the night sky out the bathroom window. He smiled, a sad, lonely smile that made his eyes shine like shattered glass. He took a deep, shuddering breath and closed his eyes, slipping into darkness.**

 **The next morning, Ada would find him fast asleep on the bathroom floor, a smile on his face.**

Calypso couldn't help but glance at real Leo. _Her_ Leo. He still stood rigid and frozen, and the smile on his face was so similar to little Leo's in the memory that it made her suddenly feel impossibly sad. Yes, she knew all about his memories. She knew what would happen. But she had only ever seen them acted out by a boy her age, in the throes of a nightmare. Seeing a tiny little boy, barely nine years old, cutting himself with such sadness and desperation, as if there was nothing else left to do to save him from himself- that was enough to make her question how much she really knew about the memories. And what was worse, little Leo looked exactly like his future self. His smile was the exact same as her Leo's- it hadn't changed in all the years since this moment, as if he'd found the perfect template and it had stuck. The same muscles moved in his face to help him smile, his eyes crinkled the same way.

The only difference was that young Leo was smaller, thinner, more fragile. More innocent. Her Leo's eyes, if you were willing to actually look, rather than his friends' simple unseeing glances, showed layers and layers of pain. They were the eyes of someone who had seen too much. Little Leo's eyes still had the young, innocent shine of a child's. He hadn't yet been properly broken. His spirit was cracked, chipped slightly, his eyes were not yet completely clouded by the pain he had seen. He was still whole. At least for now.

 **…**

 **Leo, despite the cuts that were slowly healing on his arm, couldn't escape the numbness that consumed him. It followed him everywhere, and he felt like he was underwater, surrounded by emptiness, trying to claw his way to the surface, where he could breathe in emotions and feelings and be whole again. Yet, everyday, the surface got further away as he sunk deeper into cold nothingness. Ada and Jacob, however, were blind to his struggles. They saw only a strange, grinning boy who enjoyed others' pain. They became certain that he was a psychopath, and after two weeks of living with them, they became terrified of him. They tried not to show it, but Leo could see the fear in their eyes, could see the way they were on edge around him and squirmed when he touched them. They stopped letting Max play with him. To his face, they would smile awkwardly and assure him that nothing was wrong and that of course they loved him, what did he mean they were afraid of him? But he could tell they were growing sick of him and his antics.**

 **"Oh stop it, Leo!" Jacob sighed, exasperated, when Leo tried to shove him away from the kitchen sink and had started scrubbing the plates.**

 **"You're being ridiculous!" Ada snapped when Leo had refused to eat lunch with them.**

 **"Stop laughing at me!" Max whined when he had hit his shin on the playground and Leo had burst out laughing. "You're just mean and nasty!"**

 **That comment had hurt the most.**

 **Leo hurt himself more and more to escape the emotional pain. The pain of being unwanted, unloved, feared. He hurt more so he laughed more. He laughed more so he was feared more. He was feared more so he hurt more. He was trapped in a vicious cycle, but he refused to run. He just wanted to be safe. To be understood. To be loved.**

 **It wasn't going to happen.**

 **As soon as Jacob left for work each day, Ada would become more and more on edge. She would keep Max in her sight at all times, grabbing him and pulling him close to her whenever Leo walked in the room. She no longer tried to hide her fear of him, and Leo knew why.** **Max had walked into the bathroom one night and found him cutting himself, laughing and rocking as he dragged a bloody knife across his arm. Leo had leapt to his feet and begged Max not to tell his parents, but the boy had just stared at the knife in Leo's shaking hand, now pointed at him, and the bleeding cuts on his arms and screamed. He screamed and screamed and Leo couldn't silence him. Ada and Jacob confiscated his knife, terror in their eyes as if they expected him to use it against them. Leo had fallen to the floor and wailed- he had just started to feel better. The physical pain was finally replacing his emotional pain, finally silencing the voices in his head. They came back now that the knife was gone, flooding into his head with the force of a hurricane, a cacophony of insults and screams that left him crippled for hours. They had locked the bathroom door to block out his laughter. The next morning, he heard them talking about him. Ada wanted to get rid of him. She was in tears, saying that he was scaring her, that he was a psychopath, that it was a mistake to foster him. Jacob tried to reason with her. He talked to her quietly and finally managed to convince her to give Leo a chance. She would come to regret it.**

 **A few days later, Ada decided to make some biscuits while Jacob went off to work. Max was very excited about this, and ran around her legs, sticking his fingers into the mix and stuffing his mouth with chocolate chips. He skipped around, singing and babbling, and it was clear that it was starting to fluster Ada, but she didn't dare kick him out of the kitchen to be on his own with Leo. Leo himself watched with a hollow feeling in his chest. He used to love baking with his mamá. She used to say that their me hanic's brains helped them cook- gave them the eye for exact measurements. Leo couldn't stand to watch, seeing in Ada and Max a mirror image of his past life, a little distorted and different but almost the same, so close to what his home and his mamá and his happiness had looked like that he hated it. He had the sudden desire to knock the mixing bowl to the floor and watch it smash into little pieces. He suddenly wanted to tear open the bags of flour and sugar and empty them everywhere until they couldn't possibly be used. He had a sudden urge to make Max cry, for him to know pain, and Leo loathed himself for it. His fingers twitched. He could do it if he tried.**

 ** _No. Don't you dare._ He thought of something his mother used to say to him:**

 ** _Strong people don't put others down. They lift them up. And you are strong, mijo._**

 **Someone had just stabbed him with a sharpened icicle. Aching frost was swallowing his heart.**

 ** _You're fine._**

 **"I can help you bake if you want." She winces. Fear in her eyes.**

 **"No thank you. You might mess the biscuits up."**

 ** _You're fine._**

 **"Oh. Ok. Are you sure? I won't mess them up, promise. I'm good at making food." Step towards her. She shrinks back.**

 **"No thank you. Can you get out my kitchen please? It's very off-putting."**

 **"Ok. Sorry." Step back. She watches. She's breathing fast. Disgust. Fear.**

 **"Don't come near me please." She's trying and failing to be polite.**

" **Ok. Sorry." Feeling hurt. Am I so terrifying? I'm just a child.**

 **"Stop saying sorry."**

 **"I'm sorry." Can't stop. She'll hurt me. They always end up hurting me.**

 **"Why don't you just go to your room?"**

 **"But I'm happy here." What does happy even mean?**

 **"I don't care. I'm not happy. You're scaring Max."**

 **"I'm sorry."**

 **"Stop saying sorry!" Anger.**

 **Leo's body shook. He was sure she was going to hit him. He couldn't stop apologising. It was habit, instinct. You do something wrong, you say sorry. If you don't, you get hurt.**

 **Why did she hate him so much?**

 **"I'm sor-"**

 **"Quiet! You think this is funny? Is this a joke? Just stop!" Leo went to apologise again, but caught himself and instead buried his face in his hands to silence himself.**

 ** _Just stop. It's not hard._**

 **"Thank you." Ada sighed sadly, before turning back to Max as if Leo didn't exist. "Right. Let's make these biscuits."**

 **Leo sank to the floor. He should just go to his room, but he couldn't make himself. Why did he always ruin things? Ada had been so nice to him to start with. She would have been happy to let him help her bake. But now he'd ruined everything and she hated him. He sat and watched them while they made the biscuits and flattened the little lumps of batter out onto a tray to put in the oven.**

 **Maybe if he helped her, she would like him again. Maybe if he showed that he was good at baking, that he wouldn't ruin everything, that he wasn't a mistake, she wouldn't be scared anymore. He just wanted her to hug him and hold him and get rid of the emptiness inside him.**

 ** _If you help her, the emptiness will go away_ , he told himself.**

 **So he leapt to his feet, smile on his face**

 **He pulled the tray from Ada's hands as she was about to place it in the oven. The mitts were near the sink. She didn't think she needed them. She cried out in protest as Leo tried to pull it out of her hands, blinded by his need to help her, not realising that he was making her life harder. They wrestled over the tray, biscuits sliding and falling.**

 **"Let go, Leo!" She cried. Leo ignored her. He was helping her, wasn't he? He pushed the tray into the oven, lined with red-hot metal. The heat hit his skin, harnessing his power, and travelled up his hands, up his arms, responding to his desperation and fear in a flame that engulfed his forearms. It didn't affect him, but Ada screamed** **as the flames licked her hands** **and yanked them away, blistered and red. She backed away from the oven and held them to her chest, sinking to the floor and blowing on her hands, trying to soothe them. Max watched on in horror.**

 **Leo broke.**

 **He stared at the burns on her hands, the pain in her eyes, and fell apart. His mamá had burned because of him. Her body had been covered in blisters and burns and pain because of him. Her face and her skin had burnt away because of him.**

 **She had died in a fire because of him.**

 ** _Monster. Diablo._**

 **Leo wanted to scream. He couldn't stand the smell of Ada's burnt skin. His stomach lurched. He braced himself with his hands and threw up, shaking. He opened his mouth and wailed. His wails transformed into laughter- high, loud, manic laughter. His eyes were those of a crazy person. They were wide and dark and glinting with insanity. He stared straight ahead and rocked back and forth, laughing uncontrollably.**

 **"Stop it! It's not funny!" Ada was staring at him, horrified, pain in her eyes. She was braced against the sink, desperately running her hands under the tap. Leo's laughter continued, so loud they were like high, joyful screams, his voice cracking, body shaking. He wrapped his arms around himself and rocked harder, eyes wide and unblinking. Ada looked terrified.**

 **"Stop it! Be quiet! Stop laughing!" Spit frothed at Leo's open mouth. He didn't even look human. Max started to cry. Leo clutched his head, fingers gripping his hair so hard his knuckles were white. Every laugh was like a piece of him was being ripped out.**

 **"I said stop it! You're scaring me! Stop! Stop it! STOP!" Leo rose shakily to his feet. He tried to speak but he couldn't- his words were drowned out by his laughter. He started to walk towards her, hands outstretched.**

 **"G-get away from me! Leave us alone! Stop laughing!" There was blood under Leo's nails from dragging them down his arms, his face. Tears streamed down his cheeks. There was a crazy grin on his face.**

 **"Stop! Stop it! Shut up! Shut up! SHUT UP!" Ada was hysterical with fear, sobbing and screeching at him, pulling Max behind her. Leo just stared at her, laughing until his throat ached and his vision spun. Ada was breathing fast, leaning back against the counter, trying to get as far away from him as possible. "You're scaring me!" She screamed. "Stop it!" Leo grinned. He couldn't help it. Ada grabbed the nearest weapon- a rolling pin. She held it in front of her.**

 **"Stay back! Get away from us!" Leo couldn't speak, couldn't breath past his laughter. He just wanted to help her. He went to grab her burned hand. It was all his fault. He had to help her, heal her. He grinned and lunged forward, but she thought he was lunging at Max, didn't realise he was trying to grab her hand. She screamed in fear.**

 **"GET BACK!" She swung the rolling pin, struck him across the head with it as hard as she could. It connected with a sickening crack and Leo fell to the ground. He curled into a ball, holding his head. His laughter had stopped now. His body shook and Ada now saw the tears on his face. She saw how small and thin he was. How innocent and young. He was just a child. And she'd almost killed him.**

 **She sunk to the ground, hand over her mouth in horror at what she'd done. Tears streamed down her face.**

 **"Oh my god. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." She let out a shaky sob. "I'm so sorry. I can't do this. I can't can't do this anymore. I'm so sorry." When Jacob returned home early half and hour later, he found them in the same position- both curled and crying on the ground, blood trickling out of Leo's temple, Ada shaking and covering her mouth.**

Calypso was aghast. She had never seen him as insane as he had been in the memory. She had never seen him so blind to what he was doing, to how he was affecting another person. His friends looked just as horrified. They sat in stunned silence, looking at each other, eyes wide.

"Gods." Hazel breathed, shaking. She couldn't make herself say any more. The others agreed. They were just as shocked by their friend's sudden outburst.

Calypso was confused. Yes, she had seen Leo screaming, crying, wailing and self-harming in the time she had known him. But she had also seen him laughing, smiling, dancing, hugging his friends and loving the people in his life. She had never seen him so mindless and crazed, as if he wasn't the kind, gentle person she knew he was. But maybe he wasn't gentle as a child. Maybe his experiences had removed his kindness. Maybe his selflessness now was a by-product of all his mistakes in the past. Maybe he'd had to relearn empathy to become the boy she loved and get back to the boy he was before his mother's death. The thought made her feel hollow.

 **…**

 **The next day, once they were sure that Leo's head was okay, he was packed up and in Tiffany's car ready to be taken away. They had called social services the night before, Ada crying and saying the same thing over and over.**

 **"I can't do this. I can't do this."**

 **"Shh, it's okay." Jacob tried to comfort her. "It's not your fault." _It's his._ He never actually said it, but Leo knew they were both thinking it. He'd stuffed up. He'd tried to be the funny, loving child they wanted, tried to accept his new home. But instead he'd made them hate him. Eventually, they probably could have worked things out, and he could have stayed there, but he guessed he was a let down. He was a weird, scary boy that they didn't want. He waved goodbye halfheartedly as Tiffany drove him away. They sat in silence. Eventually, Tiffany spoke.**

 **"I'm proud of you for not running, Leo."**

 **Seriously? She was proud of him? He'd terrified a family, laughed at their pain and left them panicked and confused. She was proud that he hadn't run away. It was such a small, insignificant thing to be proud of. A normal kid wouldn't even think of running in the first place, let alone have someone be proud that they didn't. Leo stared at his lap, feeling empty. He dug his nails into his palms.**

 **"We'll find you somewhere, Leo. Maybe this house, this family, just wasn't right. There are so many more families. There'll be one for you. Don't worry."**

 **…**

 **The next family was exactly the same. Hannah and Thomas. A nice young couple with a daughter. Holly. They welcomed him, and for the first week, Leo believed it would get better. But then his behaviours started to appear. He refused to eat with them. He did their chores and refused their help. They caught him hurting himself. He broke down and laughed whenever they were upset or in pain. Hannah burst into tears around him. Thomas got mad.**

 **He lasted less than two weeks before they kicked him out. They said they couldn't handle it, that they were afraid of him, that he was insane. By this time, Leo had given up on finding a home. Depression sunk in. He drowned under feelings of abandonment and self-hatred. And these feelings took on a new form- they manifested as anger and defiance. What was the point of trying, of acting nice when you would only be feared and rejected? Tiffany struggled to get Leo to co-operate. He refused to listen to her, always talking back.**

 **Eventually, she managed to find another foster carer who was willing to take Leo. They pulled up into the driveway and Leo shuffled after Tiffany to the door. A kind-looking, beefy man opened the door.**

 **"Oh hey! You must be the kid I'm fostering! I'm Bruce. What's your name, kiddo?" He had a big smile and bright rosy cheeks that accentuated his double chin. Leo scowled and shrugged in response. Tiffany frowned at Leo and cleared her throat.**

 **"This is Leo." She said. "I'm sorry if he's a little quiet- he's just shy." Leo snorted, rolling his eyes. Bruce grinned.**

 **"Don't be shy, little dude. You're gonna love it here." He suddenly surged forward and put an arm around Leo's shoulders, and the weight of it made Leo's legs buckle. Leo ducked and shoved** **Bruce away from him.**

 **"You stink." He scowled.**

 **"Leo!" Tiffany cried. Bruce looked embarrassed. He scratched the back of his neck.**

 **"Yeah well, I-I forgot to put deodorant on this morning. I was too busy making everything neat and tidy for you, bud." Leo rolled his eyes.**

 **"Sure." He said sarcastically. Tiffany pursed her lips.**

 **"I have some forms here for you to sign, Mr Roberts."**

 **"Right, of course." Bruce hurried to sign them, still looking hurt.**

 **Leo watched him. He seemed to be a nice man, with a big smile and a loud, booming laugh. Despite his size, Bruce seemed surprisingly gentle and kind. He reminded Leo of Pumba, the pig from The Lion King. It was one of the only movies Leo had ever seen.**

 **He seemed nice, and seemed genuinely excited to be fostering Leo, but Leo didn't buy it. He would be the same as all the others- kind and friendly at first, but horrified and disgusted when he saw what Leo was really like. What was the point in trying to accept him as a foster father? What was the point in being polite? What was the point in trying to settle into his new home, to start feeling safe, only to be slapped with the pain of rejection once again? There was no point. Leo knew he couldn't take the pain again. To know that, no matter how good, how kind, how polite he tried to be, he wasn't good enough. Leo decided that instead of trying to be loveable, he would be hateable instead. He would see how far he could push it, how far he could go before Bruce reached his breaking point. How much of Leo could he take? There was always a breaking point, better to find it sooner rather than later. It meant less pain.**

 **As soon as Tiffany was gone, and Bruce had closed the door, Leo turned on him.**

 **"This house is gross." He sneered. Bruce shifted uncomfortably.**

 **"I'm sorry you don't like it, bud, but it's all I can afford. Was your house with your mum nicer than this?" Leo flinched.**

 **"Shut up."**

 **"Excuse me?"**

 **"I said shut up! You think you can talk about my mamá?"**

 **"Ah jeez. I'm sorry. Of course you'd be upset talking about her. I didn't think."**

 **"Well that's obvious. You don't have much of a brain." Bruce blinked in surprise.**

 **"That's not very nice Leo." Leo rolled his eyes.**

 **" _That's not very nice Leo_." He mimicked, mocking Bruce's slight lisp. Bruce frowned, hurt.**

 **"W-well, anyway, you want to see your room? I made it all nice for you. I bought new sheets a-and there's a lava lamp in there. It's really cool. I was so excited when I saw it. I just knew you'd like it. Isn't that weird? I didn't even know you but I just felt that you'd like it." He said the words fast like an excited little kid. Leo rolled his eyes again. He didn't even know what a lava lamp was, but he followed Bruce to the room. As promised, it was freshly cleaned and there were crisp new sheets on the bed, bright blue. And on** **the desk in the corner sat what must have been the lava lamp. Bruce rushed over to it.**

 **"I turned it on before you came so that it'd be properly heated up. Isn't it cool?"**

 **It was. It was a glass tube filled with blue liquid, and, glowing like they were something from another planet, fluorescent bubbles of another yellow liquid rose and fell in mesmerising patterns. Leo stared, transfixed. He'd never seen anything so amazing in all his life. A grin spread across his face, and for once it wasn't triggered by sadness or pain.**

 **"So?" Bruce prompted. "What do you think?" Leo forced a scowl onto his face.**

 **"It's stupid." Bruce's face crumpled**.

 **"Oh." He looked down. Leo almost felt bad.**

 ** _No. This is the better option. Better than hoping and then hurting._**

 **He dumped his duffel bag onto the bed.**

 **"I'm hungry."**

 **"Right. Of course. I'm sorry." Bruce quickly straightened up. "Come with me."**

 **"No."**

 **"Huh?"**

 **"I'm not coming. You can get food for me." Bruce furrowed his eyebrows.**

 **"What if I get the wrong thing?"**

 **"Then I'll make you get something else. Hurry up!" Bruce gave him a confused look, before shuffling off to the kitchen. Leo collapsed onto the bed. He didn't feel good about how he was treating Bruce. The poor guy was just trying to be nice, and Leo was being cruel. His mother would be so disappointed in him. Leo pushed the thought aside as Bruce returned with a peanut butter sandwich. Leo wrinkled his nose.**

 **"I hate peanut butter."**

 **"Oh. I'll get you something else. But, you know, peanut butter is actually very good."**

 **"Whatever." Leo rolled his eyes.**

 **…**

 **Over the next few days, Leo continued to be a pain. He refused to help, gave sarcastic answers to any questions he was asked, rolled his eyes at everything Bruce said. He felt angry every time Bruce looked hurt. He wanted to punch something every time Bruce told him that he was a good kid. He wanted to scream at him every time he mentioned his mamá. He started to ignore Bruce when he spoke. He purposely knocked over picture frames and books and vases and tried to make a mess. But Bruce never got angry, only looked at Leo with a disappointed, sad look on his face, as if he could see Leo was wasting his potential. This infuriated Leo so much he wanted to scream. He couldn't run- he was still bound by his promise, and he knew that the minute he relaxed around Bruce and decided that maybe he was worth accepting as a parent, or that maybe this house was okay, or made himself vulnerable and showed who he really was, Bruce would hate him and get rid of him and break Leo more. He was trapped. He needed Bruce to get mad, to have had enough, to give up, or he knew it would all only end in pain.**

 **Despite his efforts, Leo couldn't completely hide his behaviours. He refused to eat with Bruce. He claimed that it was because Bruce was disgusting, but when Bruce walked in on Leo eating in his room and Leo practically threw the food across the room away from himself, terror in his eyes, it was obvious that Bruce's hygiene wasn't the problem. Leo still did Bruce's chores, despite trying to make mess and havoc. It's hard to claim you don't care about mess when you obsessively clean and fold everything a minute later. Leo's laughter still controlled him. Whenever Bruce hurt himself, Leo would run and lock himself in his room to hide the outbursts of laughter that ripped him to shreds.**

 **Whenever Bruce asked him about any of his strange behaviours, Leo would yell and scream things in Spanish that his mother would have been horrified to hear him saying. And despite Leo's tough-guy act, if he'd just relaxed and not worried about what Bruce would think about the real him, he would have noticed that Bruce didn't care that Leo was weird. He didn't care that he was broken and strange. He saw through Leo's act and he didn't hate him for what he saw. He didn't reject him or fear him. He just wanted him to be happy.**

 **By the time Leo realised that, it would be many years too late.**

 **…**

 **One day, when Leo had yelled at Bruce for mentioning his mother, Bruce had looked at him and said quietly,**

 **"You know, you probably think I'm oblivious and stupid and that I don't understand how you're feeling, but I do." Leo snorted.**

 **"Sure."**

 **"It's true. I know what it's like to live on the streets. I was homeless for the first seven years of my life. My mom left me in an alleyway all alone as a baby. I had to survive in a cardboard box. No one helped me. When I finally managed to get my life together and get off the streets, I went to find her. I still loved her, I didn't hold what she did against her. It's a normal thing for my kind to leave our children on the streets. But I was too late. She had been killed- murdered by one of your kind."**

 **"M-my kind? What are you talking about?"**

 **"I was angry at first, and very upset. But then I realised. My mother's murderer killed her because the poor little girl was just was scared. She was just a child and she was scared. I knew what it was like to be scared, to be alone, to have someone come towards you and try to hurt you. So I don't hold it against that girl, or the boy and girl who were with her. Annabeth was the girl's name. Well, I don't hold it against her kind. I don't hold it against any of your kind. I just want to make sure no more children are scared."**

All eyes turned to Annabeth. She stared at the memory in shock.

"He… he can't be talking about me. It must be another Annabeth." She laughed. "Weird coincidence."

 **Tears welled up in Bruce's eyes. Leo glanced at him and stepped back in shock. Looking at Bruce out of the corner of his eyes, Leo swore he saw not two eyes, but one big, brown eye in the middle of his face, shining with tears.**

"Gods," Percy said, looking at Annabeth. "You don't think that's… That can't be the- The cyclops you and Thalia and Luke… the one you killed? Bruce is…" His sentences were broken with shock, but Annabeth understood.

"I'm the Annabeth he's talking about. I killed his mom." Annabeth shook her head in wonder. "Leo met that thing's son? I'm surprised Bruce is so gentle. His mom certainly wasn't."

 **Despite the fact that Bruce _was_ gentle, Leo was terrified. He backed away, holding his hands in front of him as if to block Bruce.**

 **"Y-you… you're… you're a-"**

 **"Don't be scared, Leo."**

 **"You're a monster!" Bruce looked hurt.**

 **"No. I'm just like you. I won't hurt you, I promise. Please. Don't be scared. No more scared children." He started to cry. "Why are they always scared?" Leo took one last horrified look at Bruce, now sure that he was a horrible one-eyed monster, and ran to his room.**

 **"Leo wait!" Bruce cried. He tried to grab Leo's wrist, but misjudged his own strength and gripped him too hard. Leo's joints popped and he cried out in pain.**

 **"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to! Wait!" But Leo had already reached his room. He braced the door with a chair and ran around the room, shoving things into his duffel bag. Then he pulled the glass window open and kicked the fly-wire out of his frame. He slid out and landed in the garden bed just as Bruce opened the door.**

 **"Leo, please! I'm not like other monsters! I want to help you!" Leo started to run, heart racing, arm throbbing.**

 **"Leo wait!" Bruce screamed, but he could only fit up to his shoulders out the window.**

 **"Leo there are others like you! There's a camp! You need to go there! You need to-"**

 **His voice was lost in the distance as Leo ran.**


End file.
